"If the glory of Europe is destined to end in the war, then please don't let it become history in our hands."

This is what the Irish king wrote in his letter to the German Crown Prince William and British Crown Prince Edward. Both letters were signed on May 7, 1933. The diplomatic conflict between Britain and Germany caused by the Persian war has developed to the brink of war. Germany is the leader of the allies and Britain is an important member of the anti-German alliance. If a war breaks out between the two countries, the scope of the impact is likely to exceed the war in 1914. Based on Germany's attitude of being unyielding, Britain has been forced to retreat to the point where it cannot retreat. The United States, the Soviet Union, Austro-Hungary, Italy, Turkey and other countries are all mobilizing secretly or semi-publicly. International public opinion is generally pessimistic about the prospect of a peaceful settlement of the dispute between Britain and Germany, and even asserting that the war has entered the countdown. In the newspapers filled with sorrow and prayer, this poetic saying makes people feel as if they see a bright light in the darkness.

Although the Irish country is small, it has an important strategic position; the crown princes of Britain and Germany may not be the real helmsman of the national ship, but at least they have a great say in the national affairs. Three once elegant young people have entered middle age one after another. They are becoming increasingly mature, displaying their talents in their respective roles, and becoming prominent figures respected by the people and respected by the outside world. In the current situation, they are three people who have the opportunity to change the fate of Europe and even the world.

Either moved by the letter from the King of Ireland, or in line with the call of international public opinion, or their respective countries were not really prepared to deal with the war, the German Crown Prince William and the British Crown Prince Edward expressed their willingness to resolve the war crisis through personal efforts in public. His Majesty Joachim, the King of Ireland, took the opportunity and invited the two crown princes to come to Ireland to hold a peaceful meeting.

The direction of the situation is affected by various uncertain factors. The longer the time is, the more unexpected changes are likely to occur. Under the current situation, if you want to avoid war, you must have the determination to make a decision. On May 8, British Crown Prince Edward made the decision to go to Ireland. A day later, German Crown Prince William also set off from Germany to Limerick.

The monarchy between Britain and Germany is essentially different from the monarchy in the feudal era. Even if the monarch's decision is restricted, it is even more impossible for the crown princes to do things arbitrarily according to their will. No matter what agreement the German crown prince and the British crown prince can reach in Ireland, they cannot directly change the tension between the two countries. However, their encounter with the outside world is still a strong signal: if the negotiation is completed, the war has a great opportunity to avoid it, at least it will be postponed backwards. If the negotiations collapse, peace will only have a slim hope that is almost nothing.

The meeting place of the two crown princes was arranged in the beautifully scenic Irish Palace.

In public, William Xiao inherited his father's arrogance and conceit, sometimes making a fuss about witty words and cheering people, sometimes making no mistakes, and Edward was just the opposite. He was gentle and cautious in his words and actions, and received unanimous praise from the public with his good gentlemanly attitude. These two people with completely different personalities have known each other for a long time and have a kinship relationship, but their personal relationship is far inferior to William II and George V, and they have not had a relationship for many years after the war. Now Britain and Germany are on the verge of war. When the two crown princes meet, the scene is quite awkward, but they are not as cold as they are tense.

Common diplomatic mediation generally lists the focus of disputes between the two sides, and eases the dispute by means of retreating and exchanging interests or exchanging interests, and resolving the dispute. However, Xia Shu took an unusual path. Based on the proportion of war losses of each party in the previous war, civilian casualties, property losses, facility damage and other data, he used extensive war chess deductions to inform the two crown princes that if Britain and Germany fight, no matter who wins or loses in the end, the richest and most beautiful cities in Europe will be transformed into scorched earth. From now on, the world's political, economic and financial centers will be transferred to areas outside Europe.

The words surprised the two crown princes and their accompanying adjutants very much.

On the German side, Crown William is the heir to the Prussian military tradition. He participated in the last battle as the commander of the legion, and later replaced Moltke Jr. as the chief of staff of the German army, becoming the first German royal family member to be promoted to the marshal of the field for half a century. Since the late 20s, he has been regarded by the outside world as the actual helm of the German affairs strategy. Although he does not have the command talent of the old Moltke, nor the extraordinary talent of his younger brother, at least the experience accumulated over a long period of time.

Experience gave him a higher and wider vision than ordinary generals. He thought about the war chess performances presented by Xia Shu for a long time, and then retorted that the last battle was mainly face-to-face battles on land, so the casualties between soldiers and civilians were particularly heavy. In the past twenty years, the development of military technology has caused great changes in the war mode. Judging from the Persian conflict, the party with air and sea advantages will have a much smaller proportion of war losses than the opponent, and its own local area is not easily threatened by the other party.

Unlike the German Crown Prince who chose a military profession, the British Crown Prince Edward's military experience was relatively short. Moreover, due to the opposition of the British government, he had never really been on the battlefield. His understanding and mastery of military strategies was far inferior to the two Hohenzollern family members present. However, the staff adjutants he brought were not ordinary people, but the successful students of the two British Field Marshals Eimmond Allen and Henry Hughes Wilson, and the best at the Royal Military Academy of Sanhurst.

Colonel Henry Maitland Wilson. The young and powerful British colonel was studying the wargame deduction of the Irish king while whispering to Edward. After Crown William raised his arrogant and rude question, Crown Edward quickly fought back with Wilson's suggestion: Once the war broke out, Britain would rely on the Strait defense line to block the German attack, and the British bomber fleet that took off from southeast England could turn any German city into ruins.

Crown Prince William said coldly that the Luftwaffe defended the German sky like a knight. As long as the enemy dispatched 100 bombers, Germany would send 200 fighters to intercept. If the enemy dispatched 100 bombers, then Germany would send 200 fighters. No matter how many bombers the enemy sent, the final result would be that it would be shot down by the Luftwaffe. In addition, the German team is confident that they would cross the English Channel and plant the battle flag on the head of London. At that time, the enemy will no longer have a forward base to bomb Germany's mainland.

The British refuted that the Luftwaffe might have the ability to defend German airspace in the sun, but at night they were powerless to the bombers flying towards Berlin.

Crown Prince William immediately stated that the German team has secret weapons for night air defense.

Before this dispute became unstoppable, Natsuki used his "trump card". He bluntly stated that the intensification of the conflict between Britain and Germany is in the interests of some non-European countries. Regardless of whether they participate in the war or not, the possibility of their homeland being destroyed by war is very small, and the family assets of European countries can be further emptied through wartime arms transactions. If the military and political officials and ordinary people of Britain and Germany can see this clearly, they may be able to look at each other's disputes with a more tolerant attitude.

However, the crown princes were silent. In the core power circle of their respective countries, they should always pay attention to the trends of the international situation, and should also see and hear various profound analysis of the times. They may have thought about what Xia Shu said seriously a long time ago. In the economic winter caused by the world financial crisis, Britain suffered a heavy blow, and Germany's situation was not much better. Factories such as factory bankruptcy, rising unemployment rates and rising prices have had a continuous impact on social stability. The leaders of the two countries wanted to get rid of the troubles of the economic crisis, and developing arms became their unanimous choice.

On the one hand, the grudges and hatreds between Britain and Germany have been laid since the signing of the London Armistice Treaty in 1915. For a long time, the military construction of both sides has been imaginary enemies of each other. The opposition between public opinion and people's concepts has been long-standing. It is almost impossible to eliminate the feud between countries with the attitude of the two crown princes. However, he still made an unprecedented attempt under the attention of the world, both for the slim hope of peace, and through this move, he also hopes to tell people that the will of the ruling classes of various countries cannot prevent the outbreak of war. At least in the summer of 1933, they had made positive efforts for peace.

In the hopeless situation of easing the conflict, Natsuki made a suggestion to the two crown princes, that no matter how the war develops, both sides of the war must abide by the terms of the two Hague international conventions, use a knight war to settle the grudges between the two sides, and ensure that the other party’s political structure is not fundamentally damaged as much as possible. In this way, the winner can have a clear conscience and the loser can hold his head up.

Crown Prince William and Crown Edward agreed.

As the tripartite talks failed to achieve any substantial results, the German crown prince and the British crown prince both left Ireland on the morning of May 10. At this time, Germany and Britain had each launched formal military mobilization, two huge war machines rumbled, people's peaceful lives were broken, and millions of young people gave up their respective professions and ideals, and voluntarily or involuntarily took up weapons. Although the two countries have not declared war, the hope for peace has become extremely slim.

On May 11, US President Hoover delivered a public speech in Washington, accusing the German Empire of repeatedly imposing on other countries with its own will, wantonly interfering in other countries' internal affairs and undermining international stability. This is a military hegemony that has not been seen in a century since Napoleon France. If Germany does not immediately stop its military threat to Britain, then the United States of America will implement the mutual assistance agreement signed between the United States and Britain under the call of justice, take the strictest sanctions against Germany, and implement unconditional military aid to Britain from now on.
Chapter completed!