On July 27, 1888, the fifth son of German Emperor William II was born. 44 years later, the German prince celebrated his 44th birthday as the king of Iceland.

To celebrate his brother's birthday, Xia Shu and Queen Charlotte arrived at the port of Reykjavik one day in advance. In the past four and a half years, the German government has invested nearly 300 million marks in various construction projects in Iceland. Today, the capital of Iceland has been redesigned and has become a modern northern port. The brand new royal palace has risen from the ground, giving people a fairytale dreamy feeling against the backdrop of the mountains and the vegetation in the cold zone.

If it was in an era of long-term peaceful development, it would be easy and comfortable to be a monarch far away from worldly disputes. However, the golden decade of Europe has passed, and the global financial storm has triggered a series of economic and political crises. With the formation of the new agreement camp, the international situation has become increasingly sinister, so that the Germans occupy the vast majority of the foreigners who came to Reykjavik recently. The figure of former colleagues may make Oscar, the king of Iceland, feel at ease, but such a lifestyle is by no means what he is happy to see.

Compared with the pseudo-prosperity of the present, the Icelanders obviously prefer the peaceful and simple life at the time, so they have no good feelings for the king "invited" by the parliament, and Oscars have no intention of running this small country that is not attractive. The relationship between the monarch and his subjects can be seen from the dull atmosphere of birthday celebrations.

44 is not a very special number, and Iceland is not a very special country. Although the Icelandic government has issued invitations, the German emperor, the crown prince and the wife, and important German military and political officials all sent blessings in letters or telegrams. Among the remaining princes and princesses in the German royal family, except for Xia Shu, only Aitel and Louise, who were relatively free, were invited to come.

As a birthday star, Oscar was not in high spirits during the celebration and smiled very reluctantly. However, his children were smart and cute, like angels, which made others envious. Among the foreign officials who came to celebrate their birthday, Xia Shu was surprised to see the figure of British Foreign Secretary Neville Chamberlain. Chamberlain in the old time and space was notorious for implementing appeasement policies during his tenure as British Prime Minister, but that was not entirely the result of his personal decisions. It was of great importance to the times, international situation and public opinion atmosphere.

In this time and space, as the loser of the previous war, Britain slept on firewood and tried hard to govern after the war. The whole country was looking forward to avenging his previous shame. Chamberlain, who was born in a political family, and his Conservative Party supported and devoted himself to the cause of revival in Britain. Since 1922, Chamberlain served as Minister of Health, Finance, and Foreign Affairs in three cabinets. Participating in secret meetings between the United States, Britain, Japan and the Soviet Union and concluding secret treaties on behalf of the British government was his greatest contribution as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

From the sultry London to the cool Reykjavik, Chamberlain's purpose was naturally not to escape the summer heat. There was neither any conflict between Britain and Iceland to resolve, nor any friendship to talk in depth. After the celebration, Xia Shu stayed in Iceland for several days, and when all foreign envoys and guests left, he had a separate conversation with Oscar with his brothers.

Without outsiders, Oscar said with a wry smile: "The British know that I, the king of Iceland, is just a puppet of the German royal family and government. I have no power to decide the future of Iceland, and it is even more impossible to refuse Germany's use of Iceland's ports and bases during wartime. So they promised me that if the British team landed in Iceland, they would ensure the safety of my family and my family, and let me continue to serve as the king of Iceland, and would give Iceland a considerable financial aid after the war ended."

As the king of Ireland, Xia Shu had long studied the strategic situation around his country very thoroughly. Iceland is located directly north of Ireland and the United Kingdom, more than 500 kilometers from the Faroe Islands, more than 800 kilometers north of the British Isle, 1,100 kilometers north of Ireland, and more than 400 kilometers north of Ireland. Although in the late 1910s, Germany forced the Danish government to allow them to establish several military meteorological stations and several places available in Greenland.

Small bases for submarine supply, but the largest island in the world is geographically closer to the North American continent. Once war breaks out, troops from the United States or Canada can easily destroy these weather stations and supply bases, and then "look down" Iceland from a high latitude. By then, unless the German navy can firmly control the North Atlantic waters, it will be inevitable that Iceland will be involved in the war. Regardless of whether it falls or not, the days of the Iceland royal family will be predictable.

Seeing that Oscar had no fighting spirit, Natsuki deliberately asked in an irritating way: "Doesn't that make you stand opposite to the German royal family and make the name of Oscar synonymous with betrayal and cowardice?"

Oscar was not angry at the wording of Xia Shu. He buried his face in his hands and said in frustration: "So what should I do? Joheng, what can I do? This place is too far from Germany. Germany cannot send a large number of troops here. The British only need one infantry regiment to occupy Iceland!"

Natsuki comforted and said: "Don't be so discouraged. Maybe Britain has no chance to send troops to Iceland at all. Maybe the war will end in a year or two, and maybe all worries will not become a reality."

Oscar was silent for a while and asked back: "But who knows?"

Indeed, once the confrontation between the two major camps escalates to the war level, it is hard to say who wins and who loses. The overall strength of the allies is not much stronger than that of the United States, Britain, Japan, and the Soviet Union. Both sides have their own advantages and disadvantages, each with shortcomings, diplomatic strategies, military performance and even unpredictable luck factors jointly determine the direction of the war. But what is certain is that if the war breaks out in the mid-to-early 1930s, there will be no nuclear weapons on the stage.

Xia Shu did not refute, but asked slowly: "Then what are your plans?"

Oscar sighed and looked at Natsuki with eager eyes: "Yorheng, can I trust you?"

Xia Shu nodded without hesitation and said, "Of course."

Oscar's lost expression eased a little, and then whispered: "Please prepare me a warship, preferably a cruiser or submarine, so that I can take my family to Ireland for refuge at critical moments."

The reason for coming to Ireland to take refuge rather than returning to Germany was that the Oscars' consideration was mainly the distance: the flight from Iceland to Ireland is only one-third of that of Germany. The longer the range during the war, the less safe it means. When the war is over, he can return to Iceland as soon as possible to take over the regime. Of course, that is based on the German camp winning the war.

Although Ireland's naval strength ranks among the top eight in the world, it is weak in front of any main fleet of Germany, the United States, Britain and Japan. It cannot withstand any negligence. It is too "luxury" to dispatch a cruiser or submarine to run away for the Iceland king. Xia Shu considered it and replied: "The Irish Navy is equipped with a long-range water reconnaissance aircraft. It only takes four hours from Reykjavik to Limerick. Can it cope with all kinds of bad weather and take off and land day and night, and its performance is better than Germany.

The Junker-36 of the National Navy is even better, and the possibility of being intercepted by enemy aircraft between Iceland and Ireland is extremely low. I can assure you that as long as there is a sign of a war breaking out, I will immediately dispatch an aircraft to Reykjavik to be stationed at any time. In addition, the Irish army secretly built a very safe wartime camp in the northern suburbs of Limerick, with a full set of living facilities for hundreds of people, and you and your family can live there throughout the war. But..."

The words in front of Xia Shu made Oscar nod, but the final twist made him feel a little shocked and he asked quickly: "But what?"

Xia Shu paused and explained: "But if a war really broke out, Ireland's situation was not much better than Iceland. Because Ireland is very close to Britain and is a strategic location for blockade and siege of Britain from the sea and air during war. If the British want to turn over through war, they must first win two victories, one is to defeat the German navy and the other is to capture Ireland. If our enemy focuses on Europe, then Ireland may be attacked before Iceland."

Although Oscar widened his eyes, there was not much surprise in his eyes. This situation should be something he could have expected. However, Ireland was different from Iceland. Xia Shu first came with the halo of the liberator. Through the Irish War of Independence and the territorial struggle against Britain, he became a hero worship and support for the Irish people. After the war, he led the Irish people to carry out successful economic construction and had strong industrial and military strength. Today, Ireland is definitely not something that the British could occupy if they wanted to.

"Can Ireland avoid being involved in a devastating war?" Oscar asked tentatively.

"No." Xia Shu answered firmly. A few simple letters are a comprehensive consideration of a national political system strategy, a deep understanding of the principle of losing lips and teeth, and a firm decision to safeguard national dignity and personal beliefs.

Among these inconclusive assumptions, Oscar was not willing to put himself in a role that was nothing but escaped, saying: "If possible, I'm willing to lead my guards to fight the British team with you."

Natsuki continued: "Maybe we can create a miracle that defeats the strong with the weak."

Since it is a miracle, the probability of realization will not be too high. The result of fighting side by side may be to die in the battlefield together. Oscar hesitated for a moment and asked cautiously: "What are your worst plans?"

Xia Shu shrugged: "Dead."

"What if it wasn't killed?" Oscar asked, "Isn't it necessary to ask for death on my own initiative?"

Natsuki knew what the other party wanted, and he thought for a moment and replied: "Create an Irish exile government in Germany and lead the troops to continue fighting against our enemies."

Oscar was finally satisfied, and then said to himself: "I really envy you. There are a group of people who are loyal to you, unlike me. When I really want to escape from Iceland, there will probably be no supporters accompanying me except for my family and entourage. How can I talk about establishing an exile government? In addition, I think that if the war situation really comes when you have to leave Ireland, it may not be a bad thing for Germany. His Majesty the Emperor will let you re-direct the fleet. In that case, our chances of winning the war will increase."

Natsuki chuckled, "How could the German fleet be handed over to a foreign monarch for command?"

"Others cannot, but you are different." Oscar said flatteringly, "If the German Navy is really forced to a very unfavorable situation, people will definitely think of the person who led the German Navy to defeat powerful enemies in the last war, and people know that this person can be trusted unconditionally, because only when Germany wins can your Ireland see the light again."
Chapter completed!