Under the warm and warm sunshine, a stunning gray aircraft flew over the square Limerick with a loud roar. The ends of its pair of double-layer wings are painted with a unique ring logo. At the root of the wing, two large-looking engines drive the huge four-leaf propellers to rotate rapidly. The long nose and front of the fuselage are equipped with an open cockpit. Three pilots wearing leather hats and leather jackets are distributed in the shape of the "Pin". There are a row of small square portholes in the middle of the fuselage, and behind the glass are curious faces.

After a year and a half of large-scale construction, Limerick's old city has become a corner of the city. The originally empty fields are like magic, and brand new streets and neat urban areas have emerged. Although there are still a large number of buildings in the construction stage, the entire city has already shown the temperament and heritage of an international metropolis. The successful holding of the 3rd Global Aviation Expo has made Yiyou an object of attention and praise from the world...

In the closed cabin of the Handley-Petji O-type transport aircraft affiliated to Royal Air Force, several well-dressed middle-aged and elderly people admired the economic miracle of Ireland while looking down at the vibrant city through the aircraft windows.

In the cabin, there are two seats that are obviously added to the rear. Their cushions, backrests and armrests are all leather, which looks much more spacious and comfortable than other seats. Those who enjoy special treatment here are a handsome young man and an elegant and dignified young lady. Like their peers, they feel very novel about the perspective of looking down at the city from the sky, but they deliberately conceal their curiosity. They don’t say a word, and they feel a lot of thought in peace.

Flying over the urban area of ​​nearly 100 square kilometers, a winding river appears under the plane, extending to the west into the sea, and there are many ships coming and going on the shimmering river surface. The adjacent urban area shows a variety of mechanical facilities, convenient land transportation, and a large number of dry docks. From the distribution of dry docks, it can be roughly inferred that the scale of the shipbuilding industry here can be almost comparable to that of London at its peak!

At this moment, two officers in the cabin wearing British naval uniforms, a lieutenant general in his fifties and a major in his early thirties, each holding a pair of small binoculars and searching for something through the window. In a moment, the major seemed to have discovered it and greeted the lieutenant general softly. They squeezed together and looked at each other for a while, frowned.

The handsome young man sitting on the leather seat turned his attention and saw the two naval officers like this, and then said, "Did you see it?"

The Lieutenant General turned his head and replied, "Yes, Your Highness, I think we have seen it. It is still in the dry dock, and the flight deck has been laid, and it is probably not far from completion."

The young man looked deep, as if he was sad, regretful, and helpless, and then his complex mood was rolled together. Instead of speaking, he turned around and closed his eyes.

The lieutenant general sighed, the plane began to turn, and he sat back to his position, and the major walked quickly to the other side of the plane window, looking reluctantly at the port, but from his unfocused gaze, he did not see the target again.

A few minutes later, the plane landed on the main runway of Limerick Airport One. Except for the German Junker-Vii four-engine bomber that flew to participate in the exhibition during the Aviation Expo, none of the planes visiting the place had such a wide wing and fuselage. Against it, the plane parked nearby was as small as toys.

It is said that if a centipede dies without being stiff, the lean camel is bigger than a horse. Although the British aviation industry performed far less than its opponents in wartime, their industrial technology and creativity are not only not inferior to the Germans who are skilled in machinery, but also have unique advantages in the fields of power and materials.

The Irish aviation industry focuses on lightweight, flexible and variable single-engine aircraft. The designed and manufactured sports aircraft, combat reconnaissance aircraft and seaplanes have already opened up in the international aviation market. There are also medium-sized dive bombers and torpedo bombers to be equipped with the Alliance Team, while transport aircraft, bombers and seaplanes above twin-engine are mainly designed and produced by Germany. Therefore, when the Handley-Petji O transport aircraft that was rarely appeared in public, the Irish officials who came to greet him were very surprised, and most of the officers showed a grim look on their faces.

Only the young man who was as graceful as the handsome young man on the plane was waiting for the plane to stop with a calm expression of wind and clouds and a quiet expression.

The neatly lined up military bands began to play music, first Schubert's "March of the Army". When the cabin door opened and the distinguished guests walked on the red carpet, they replaced it with the national anthem of the Kingdom of Britain, "God Blessing the King", and then the national anthem of Ireland, "Song of Freedom".

On the other end of the red carpet, Xia Shu in military uniform shook hands with British Crown Prince Edward again. One year and two months after his official visit to Britain, the British Crown Prince came to fulfill his contract. This was the first time that British royal family members set foot on Ireland after the independence of the Kingdom of Ireland, which had extraordinary political and diplomatic significance. What made Ireland's senior officials feel even more gratifying and excited was that after prior communication, the UK accepted the Irish government's premise requirements, which will allow Crown Prince Edward and his party to go to the Memorial Hall of the Great Famine to worship and mourn. As for the confession, the British government believes that all the government decision makers at that time were dead, and today's British royal family members and government officials should not accept any form of punishment for the mistakes of their predecessors. After several negotiations, the two sides agreed that the British government would pay Ireland a sum of funds to improve the living conditions of the poor in Ireland.

The always arrogant British people rarely show such sincerity. The voices of boycotting the visit of British Crown Prince Edward and his party almost disappeared in the Irish high-level officials. When they heard that the British were preparing to go to the Memorial Hall of the Great Famine to pay homage, the Irish people's resentment had basically calmed down. However, the British crown prince and his entourage still could not enjoy the warm welcome of the leaders of Denmark and Sweden when they visited. From the airport to the palace, there were only a few onlookers along the way, waving flowers and small flags, but they were booed a lot. In terms of the scene, the Irish people's mind was far less tolerant than the British people, or the personal charm of Prince Edward was far from comparable to those of the strong men who abused the British navy.

Due to the limited seats, Xia Shu and Crown Princess Edward took the same car, while the British Princess Mary accompanied him took the same car. The previous time, the relationship between the two private parties was a bit stale, but the so-called "those who accomplish great things are not focused on the details and the national interests are supreme, so the two discerning people naturally knew it well, so they not only did not face each other, but they soon started chatting in a familiar way.

When the person involved was not present, Xia Shu was less concerned. When asked about Princess Mary's intention for this trip, Edward finally stopped "selling" her sister like before, but mysteriously told Xia Shu that she would give Xia Shu an extremely precious gift.

In an Eastern way, chastity is the most precious gift a woman gives to men. Xia Shu has lived in Europe for more than 20 years and has a more thorough understanding of the customs and traditional concepts of the Western world. He knows that this gift should have nothing to do with dedication. Seeing that Edward was unwilling to disclose it in advance, he stopped asking.

"When flying over the port just now, I seemed to see the "Tiger" being modified." Crown Prince Edward asked.

Since the British allowed the planes to fly across the port, Suzuki would not be secretive about this issue. He shrugged: "It is no longer the Royal Navy's Battlecruiser "Tiger."

Crown Prince Edward did not show any dissatisfaction with this answer, but instead raised a smile on the corner of his mouth.

"In the Battle of the Faroe Islands, it was seriously injured and structurally damaged. We originally thought it would be sunk as a target ship, find a home somewhere in the cold seabed, or be dismantled into steel, or repaired, and one day turn the guns to aim at the coast of Britain. If that were the case, how sad it would be!"

The other party's words were obviously deliberately clichés. Unfortunately, he was facing Europe's leading shipbuilding master. After becoming the king of Ireland, his old career did not abandon it, and even became the highest-ranking naval consultant in history.

"I have personally inspected it. The structure of this warship has indeed left unrepaired remains in combat. It is no longer suitable for high-intensity combat operations. It may also be troublesome when encountering hurricanes, so we decided to transform it into an aircraft carrier. I believe that it will maintain its position as the largest aircraft carrier for a long time in the future."

Crown Prince Edward's eyes turned: "Aircraft carrier? We call it the mother ship of the plane."

Since the other party avoided the important things, Xia Shu closed her mouth in time and waited for the other party to speak first.

Sure enough, Crown Prince Edward could not resist the strange atmosphere of silence and took the initiative to say: "Britain is currently building its own mother ship, which is what you call an aircraft carrier."

Xia Shu did not reveal how much he had about the confidential information of the British Navy, but said lightly: "Well, I heard that, but the tonnage and size should be much smaller than the one entrusted by the German Navy to renovate it!"

Crown Prince Edward asked back: "How can I see it?"

"Whether building military ships or civilian ships, we should go from small to large, from easy to difficult, and gradually accumulate technical experience after success and failure, and finally build first-class ships. If we want to get into position in one step, even if we master the complete set of technical data, what is the difference between it and just learning to ride a horse and then facing the enemy?" Xia Shu said slowly.

Crown Prince Edward immediately gave Xia Shu a thumbs up: "Your Majesty's analysis is really incisive!"

Xia Shu was not induced by this compliment. He said meaningfully: "Nothing is absolute. We converted ordinary warships into aircraft carriers, and we crossed from more than 10,000 tons to more than 30,000 tons. The British aviation industry has also completed the leap from light aircraft to heavy aircraft in a very short time. If the first aircraft carrier built by the British Navy will have amazing tonnage, I would not be surprised."

"It's not particularly big, but it's bigger than ordinary people expect." Edward said, bent his thumb up, stretching out his index and middle fingers at the same time, with a slight smug look on his face.
Chapter completed!