In early 1919, under the quiet and peaceful sunshine, the beautiful Turkish Port showed a busy scene. More than 100 ships of large and small ships that were temporarily docked here, including tens of thousands of tons of cargo ships, oil tankers, thousands of tons of cruise ships, warships, various fishing boats and private yachts. Most of them were flying foreign flags. In name, the Hussein dynasty, which lasted for more than two hundred years, was still the legal ruler of Turkish, but its national defense, finance and diplomatic powers were in the hands of the Germans, and the governor appointed by the German emperor had greater power than the king.

After the war, Gibraltar, which guarded the export of the western end of the Mediterranean, was still in the hands of the British, and the Allies did not fully realize their control over the Mediterranean. Therefore, the German senior management regarded Turnis as a strategic location in North Africa, spent tens of millions to build a modern coastal defense fortress, renovated the port's military facilities, and reorganized the German Mediterranean squadron and set up the base here. Compared with the German warships docked next to the dock, the Irish naval training ship "Kuchulin" has different paint coatings and the appearance outline is not too special.

After the meeting with the King of Ireland, Marshal Muller, the chief of the German Navy Cabinet, and several accompanying officers, strolled by the sea. Their sight and topics fell unknowingly on the compensation ship, which originally belonged to the British Navy, after the signing of the London Armistice Treaty, the British cruiser was delivered to the German Navy as war compensation, and then transferred to Ireland by the German government at a price of nearly scrap iron, which led to the current "Kuchulin".

While talking, a colonel officer with thick lips and beards told a story to his colleagues: "In the ancient Taibo River Basin, a farmer picked up a wolf cub in the wild and raised it kindly. One day, the farmer went out and when he came back, his two-year-old son and the livestock in his family were all bitten to death by the wolf. Later, no one dared to raise a wolf again."

In the current situation, no matter how dull and stupid a person is, he can hear the insult. After all, the Irish king was a direct member of the German royal family. He made great contributions to the development and growth of the German navy and the defeat of the British navy in the war. No matter how dissatisfied these German officials were, they only dared to express it in this obscure way.

Marshal Muller, who was in the German Navy, hummed without hesitation.

Then, another tall, bearded naval general sighed with concern: "With Ireland's current development speed, its military strength will reach a considerable level in more than ten years, and there is a young genius commander, which is very similar to Sweden in the 17th century!"

Muller, who was not astonishingly, said in a muffled voice: "Even if Ireland is as strong as Sweden in Gustav's era, today's Germany is no longer the German of the past, what should I be afraid of?"

The bearded general quickly defended: "I'm afraid that the young king and his lack of knowledge will be deceived by the immediate interests, and have done wrong things that damage the strategy of the Allies, and put us in a disadvantageous position. In that case, the aid we now give to Ireland is really a trouble for raising wolves."

Mueller's face showed anger: "What can I do? Our Emperor loves his little prince so much. Even if Ireland does something wrong, His Majesty thinks that the King of Ireland has been instigated and deceived by officials. Some people have persuaded him with the example of Jules Benardot, which has led to His Majesty's severe rebuke."

In the face of power, not everyone will choose to compromise. A middle-aged man wearing thick-soled glasses, a fellow shipbuilding expert, Earl Von Tott, of the German Royal Navy Technical Committee, argued for His Majesty: "His Majesty Joachim is obsessed with the concept of standard warships. Because this approach is of great benefit in reducing costs and saving resources, and the same type of ship can fight more closely on the battlefield. With the same funds, manpower and time, if one or two more warships can be built, even if it cannot play a decisive role in the battlefield in the future, it is not a bad thing!"

Muller was one of the leaders of the German Navy. He walked through the palace and went out of the cabinet all year round. His skill in eloquence made Tirpitz feel at a disadvantage. He glanced at the dissident and fought back without thinking: "Your Excellency Earl, we have never denied the benefits you mentioned. The problem is that after the warships in Germany and Ireland were standardized, our technical secrets could be leaked through the hands of the Irish people. The standard aircraft carrier is a warning! I always feel that once a person is too confident, he may make fatal mistakes due to his conceit."

Earl von Tott stared at him, but didn't know how to argue. At this moment, an Irish naval officer approached the group of German officials and said to Mueller in pure, burger-accented German: "Marson Marshal, your Majesty invites you to share afternoon tea... three o'clock, separate."

Mueller took out his old pocket watch and looked at it: "Please return your highness, thank you for your invitation, I will go to the appointment on time."

The other party responded with a smile.

Mueller stared at the slightly fat Irish naval official for a moment: "You are German, right?"

The other party squinted his eyes and said like a bean pouring in the bamboo tube: "Yes, Mr. Marshal, my name is Fredrich Denser, a native of Hamburg. He served in the German Navy from 1895 to 1915, and became an Irish nationality in 1915. He was specially approved by His Majesty the Emperor to transfer to the Irish Navy. He is now a lieutenant colonel of the Royal Navy and serves as a first-class staff officer in the Irish Navy.

Without even a trace of contempt and disdain, Mueller took the initiative to extend his hand to the other party: "It's great, Lieutenant Colonel Denser, keep the excellent traditions of the German Navy and make the Irish Navy as outstanding as the German Navy."

The other party put away his smile, shook hands with respect and said, "As for your teachings."

Although they had experience serving in the German Navy, there was no excessive conversation between the two. After greeting the German Navy officers, Lieutenant Colonel Denser, wearing a white military uniform and wearing an Irish Navy logo, walked away steadily, and his posture was still a manifestation of the standard German style of exercises.

The navy colonel with a thick lip moustache said sourly: "Now, at least 70% of the senior officers of the Irish Navy have been transferred from the German Navy, so the outside world calls the Irish Navy the second high seas fleet in Germany. Most of these people are difficult to get promoted in the German Navy. If they switch to the Irish Navy, they will be promoted directly. The subsequent promotion speed is much faster than in the German Navy. William Grientz was still a brigade general of the German Navy in 1915, and now he is an admiral of Ireland."

Mueller has now become the German Navy Marshal, so he naturally would not feel envious, jealous and hated for this, but he said coldly: "The German Navy has trained them and has allowed them to serve in other countries' naval positions with unprecedented tolerance. I hope they can make Ireland the most firm and reliable ally of Germany and keep pace with Germany in military and diplomacy. However... Jules Bernadot's rebellion is indeed a manifestation of human selfishness!"

Everyone was silent.

More than an hour later, when the German Marshal sat down in front of the Irish king, there was no dissatisfaction in his expression, and his friendly expression seemed to be the other party's good mentor and friend.

When the two were alone, Natsuki slowly pushed a letter of appointment for honorary dean of the Royal Naval Academy of Limerick and an envelope containing a 100,000 mark check to Mueller.

Seeing these two things, Muller pretended to be calm, and his constantly wandering eyes reflected his rapidly moving thinking. Whether in politics or military, the gift of antique treasures, manor land and large checks is not uncommon, but behind each one means a power transaction, whether it is rejected or accepted, it is the beginning of a risk.

After a deep thought, Muller looked at Xia Shu in surprise: "This..."

Xia Shu chuckled: "We sincerely invite you to serve as honorary dean of the Royal Naval Academy of Limerick. The salary is 100,000 marks per year. You only need to give a speech to each period of Naval cadets when they open and graduate, come to guide teaching in your spare time, and give you the opinions you think are necessary to put forward on various affairs of the college."

Mueller said with a serious expression: "This gives people the feeling of bribery in disguise. Is this move meant that I would use the power in my hands to give some benefits to Ireland?"

Xia Shu raised her head and laughed: "Marson Marshal is overly worried."

Mueller glanced at the envelope on the table. As the chief of the naval cabinet and the marshal of the navy, his various salary allowances were less than 400 marks a month. The reward for this part-time job is equivalent to 20 times his current income, which can allow him and his family to live a very generous life. However, as he is worried, this may be regarded as a disguised bribery. If someone makes a big fuss about this matter, it will not only damage his prestige in the German Navy, but may even make him lose his current position.

Xia Shu explained lightly: "General Grientz is the prestigious dean of the Royal Naval Academy of Limerick, with an annual salary of 80,000 marks. Those honorary professors have annual salary ranging from 20,000 to 60,000 marks. All of these are paid by the Irish royal family and the government has no right to interfere. The appointment is open, and the compensation is absolutely confidential to the outside world."

After hearing this explanation, Mueller was obviously a little moved by the post that was rewarded. He stared at Xia Shu's charming eyes for a while, and asked like a businessman: "What do Your Majesty want from me?"

Xia Shu smiled and said, "Friendship."

Mueller was a little surprised at this answer. He thought about it for a long time without saying a word, and suddenly laughed: "Your Majesty is such an interesting person."

As he said that, he pushed the letter of appointment and envelope back to Xia Shu.

"The strategic interests of Ireland and Germany are closely linked, and the Irish royal family is a lineage of the Hohenzollern royal family. If Germany declines, no matter how much wealth I get, it will be useless. As long as you recognize this, you will know that neither Ireland nor I will do anything that harms Germany's interests. The reason why we have differences is because we think and deal with problems in different ways."

As Xia Shu said, she pushed the letter of appointment and faith to Mueller.

Mueller's complex expression showed that he was in a psychological struggle. Natsuki thought he would ask for a few more days, but after only one cup of tea, he made a decision: "Your Majesty's idea of ​​standardizing warships. No matter my attitude, the final decision is with His Majesty the Emperor. I agree very much with what you just said, the differences between us are just because we look at and deal with problems in different ways. The fundamental starting point is to safeguard the common interests of Germany and Ireland. Your Majesty, I have always admired your talent and admired your character. It is my honor to be able to establish friendship with you outside of normal interactions."

Xia Shu smiled, then stood up and shook hands with Muller: "May our friendship last forever."

Mueller nodded with a smile, and after shaking hands, he picked up the letter of appointment and envelope with some disgust: "I hope Your Majesty will fulfill his promise."

Xia Shu responded solemnly: "Please guarantee with my personality."
Chapter completed!