I've been sick these days, and I almost hang up saline yesterday. The nurse started infusion without poking the vein. Be good, in less than half a minute, I fainted instantly. I woke up for a few seconds and felt cold sweat and felt uncomfortable all over. It was only gradually better. After the injection, I went home. I was much better today. This is what I missed yesterday. There is another chapter tonight.

*******

After attending the service ceremony of the "Bavaria", Xia Shu boarded a cruise ship direct from Kiel, and happened to travel with Prince Heinrich and his wife. The prince and his wife went to Danze for vacation, while Xia Shu was entrusted by the German Emperor to inspect the shipbuilding facilities of the Shuoxiao Shipyard. This historic shipyard has obtained a construction order for the Markensen-class battlecruiser No. 1. After the design plan and technical drawings are in place, the construction project will be started.

When he was operating the Royal Friedrich Shipyard in the past, Xia Shu had a lot of knowledge about the Shuoxin Shipyard, a neighbor in the same city where cooperation and competition coexisted. It had previously undertaken the construction of the Deflinger-class second ship "Luzov" and the Bavarian-class second ship "Baden". The successful completion of the construction task demonstrated its strong modern shipbuilding capabilities. However, the newly decided Markensen-class specifications and technical requirements were better on the basis of the Deflinger-class and the Bavarian-class. The operators of Shuoxin-class believed that the original dock could be competent for the construction of the Markensen-class with a slight improvement. However, the naval technical team was cautious about this and could not resist the emperor's suspicion. Xia Shu was the king of Ireland and had to go to the field office to investigate Zhending in person.

The flight from Kiel to Danze is not far, and the exchange between Natsuki and Heinrich was limited to a lunch time, but the content and attitudes of both sides were a real and heart-to-heart talk. In the early years, Natsuki had little contact with Prince Heinrich, the "cheap uncle", and after joining the German Navy, the two's intersection gradually increased. Before Natsuki's ship design was widely recognized, the prince's recognition and support provided him with a lot of convenience. Natsuki was always grateful for this, and the prince's straightforward and generous, friendly and friendly qualities have always been something he respected and actively imitated.

For well-known reasons, Prince Heinrich no longer served as an important post in the navy. During the war, although he was appointed commander of the Baltic Squadron, he did not have a main battleship under his command. The large-scale operation carried out by the German Navy in the Gulf of Riga was also led by Admiral Schell, the commander-in-chief of the fleet. After the war, Prince Heinrich chose to retire and enjoyed the leisure life of spending time with his family. He was also invited to attend the service ceremony of the "Bavaria" as a member of the royal family.

Since he left the military, Prince Heinrich no longer influenced the country's military strategic issues in any form, but this does not mean that he did not pay attention or think. With his age and experience, he actually wanted to do something for the country. It's a pity that people's hearts are not old, and the complex factional struggles made the prince determined to be outside it.

Taking this opportunity, Xia Shu once again invited the prince to serve as the state advisor to Ireland. The prince was willing to help Xia Shu analyze the situation and provide reference opinions. He was even willing to find a beautiful place to relax in Ireland, but he was unwilling to accept the title of consultant and receive the consultant allowance.

Since the prince is unwilling to be bound by any form, Xia Shu naturally does not want to force it. This is also beneficial. At least the two of them can exchange views on various affairs relatively freely without identities.

The most eye-catching thing at present is the new round of shipbuilding competition between Britain and Germany. Now Britain is no longer working behind closed doors, but using the US shipbuilding industry to make up for the damage to the British local shipbuilding industry in the previous war, and invisibly brought the US-UK strategic cooperation relationship closer. Germany's local industry benefited from the war. One year after the war, its industrial output value increased by 75% compared with before the war, and the industrial resources in northern France and most of Poland were included in Germany's strategic system, which gave the German senior management enough confidence and confidence to challenge the opponent. The result of such a huge arms race is that one side drags down the other side, and it is ultimately reaching a point where neither side can bear it, or to end in the form of a war. It is too early to predict that in the next few years, the shipbuilding industry in Europe and the United States will usher in a deformed period of prosperity.

The shipbuilding competition is a form of competition between the two sides. In order to take the initiative in suppressing Britain and fighting the United States, the German senior management, whose self-confidence has expanded unprecedentedly, outlining a huge circle of alliance forces covering most of Europe, most of Africa and even the Middle East. This circle of forces is like a castle, including Berlin, Vienna, Rome, Istanbul, Tunisia, Jerusalem, Basra and other cities as pillars, and there are also many

Duoduo's base and fortress act as external fences, the long-loan Thors military port in the north, the staunch ally Ireland and the long-occupied French Brest to the west, the increasingly formed Persian Gulf defense system to the east, and the coastal strongholds of African colonies to the south, but these resources are not enough to satisfy Berlin's decision makers. Recently, the German Emperor, his aides and ministers and military generals have set new targets.

"The Azores are a natural transit station for Atlantic routes, from which you can monitor or attack ships across the Atlantic Ocean. The Madeira Islands have always been a strategic stronghold for controlling West Africa and monitoring the Strait of Gibraltar, while the Cape Verde Islands guard routes between the Cape of Good Hope and Europe..." Prince Heinrich said in a gentle tone. "From a simple military perspective, if these three strongholds are occupied by Germany, they can not only become a base for strategic offensives, but also serve as outposts for strategic defense. On the other hand, if these islands fall into the hands of the enemy, they can be used to carry out crossing stations for equally effective attack and containment."

Portugal, this former marine empire, gradually sinks like the sun, but not completely sinks like Spain. Until the beginning of the 20th century, it still controlled colonies dozens of times its local area, from Macau in Asia, the East Indies to Guinea-Bissau in Africa, Sao Tome-Principe, Cape Verde, Angora, and Mozambique. This also made the mentality of the Portuguese ruling class just like the declining nobles living in poverty, and attaches great importance to identity and etiquette.

Festival. This neutral country has been emotionally inclined to the British since the Napoleonic War. During the war, they helped Britain a lot to allow the British army to pass through Mozambique, allow the British navy to use the Madeira Islands, and use Portuguese ships to help Britain transport supplies. Ordinary Portuguese people also showed deep affection for the British war situation, to those refugees from Britain, as well as survivors attacked by German attack ships and submarines.

Thinking of this, Natsuki sighed: "The British lost the war, and the Portuguese's close stance towards it has changed. Germany should take this opportunity to improve its relations with Portugal, gradually narrow the distance between Berlin and Lisbon through economic aid and military cooperation, and strive to include Portugal in the camp of the allies. Even if Portugal is unwilling to give up neutrality, at least it can find a way to allow Germany to use its ports and bases on the Atlantic Ocean with conditions."

Tasting the clouds and mists of Mount Lu made by Xia Shu himself, the prince's brows stretched, as if he was savoring the oriental culture contained in this cup of fragrant tea. However, when he returned to the topic just now, his expression seemed a little heavy: "Your Majesty can see through the problems at a glance, but the German cabinet could not see them with his eyes open. They actually felt that forcing Portugal to compromise through military and diplomatic pressure was more direct and effective. After the outbreak of the last war, the British government had requested Portugal to use the Azores base, especially after the Blüchel entered the Atlantic Ocean, the British even promised to rent the Harta Port on Fayar Island to pay a lot of compensation, but Lisbon still did not agree. Perhaps in the national territory of Portugal, the Azores are more important than Madeira, Cape Verde and even any local province."

Natsuki nodded and said, "If the Portuguese government forces the Portuguese government to lease military bases in Azores, Cape Verde and Madeira to Germany through force or diplomatic threats, it will probably only make the Portuguese more disgusted and hated Germany. If Germany violates Portugal's neutrality, in addition to losing the support of public opinion from various countries, it also means that the United Kingdom and the United States may take some unexpected measures against us."

"For example, sending troops to occupy the Azores?" the prince sighed helplessly, "that will surely be the beginning of the next war."

Prince Heinrich's concerns represent the mentality of a considerable number of Europeans in this era. Whether they see with their own eyes or hear by them, they are deeply shocked by the development momentum of the United States in the past half century. Just imagine that with the achievements of the industrial development of European countries over the past few hundred years, it is only a few or a dozen of the size of the United States' industrial scale. Think about the United States' tens of millions of tons of steel and its huge population base, people will inevitably be worried about this huge monster on the other side of the ocean.

Looking back on history, Natsuki is more calm than his wise men of his contemporaries. He knows how far-reaching the impact of isolationism on the United States. Only when you are sure to win or are deeply stimulated can the United States be involved in the war. Therefore, it is unlikely that the United States and Britain will join forces to send troops to the Azores. The unexpected moves Natsuki mainly refer to politics and diplomacy. After all, judging from the several battles before and after the last war, the high-level British leaders were able to catch up with the political skills that German Emperor William II and his ministers and aides could not catch up with it even when riding horses.

Taking into account various factors, Natsuki holds the same view as Prince Heinrich, that Germany should not suppress Portugal by tough means, after all, a neutral Portugal is more beneficial than a Portugal that chose a camp. During the last war, Portugal seemed to be an incredible oasis of peace and prosperity for fugitives from belligerent countries: no military control; no ration cards were required until the war broke out;
Chapter completed!