Under the scorching sun, a twin-engine transport plane landed steadily at the German-French joint military airport in the southern suburbs of Paris. Marshal Reinhardt Schell, the highest commander of the German Admiral, walked out of the cabin with a serious look on his face, and the guards waiting by the gangway all raised their rifles and saluted them with their heads raised.

Marshal Scher, who was over 70 years old, walked down the gangway and shook hands with the officers who came to greet him. He entered the black Mercedes-Benz without saying a word, quietly closed his eyes, but his firm face showed a complicated and entangled look of confusion. The slight fatigue in his body would not make the stern general, who was called the "old sailor" by his colleagues so silent. Anyone with some eyes can see that his worries lies in the bad situation of the Allied Navy on the Atlantic battlefield, the remnants who were trapped in the Azores and had no idea of ​​fate...

Although the French government repeatedly reiterated its neutral position, France inevitably became involved in this war because the German occupation forces did not evacuate and used French ports and airports as pedals to attack Britain. The journey from the airport to the location where the German General Staff was located during the war was full of German soldiers carrying guns and ammunition. It was rare to see one or two French civilians, and they were also timid like quails in the rain. The magnificent Baroque castle seemed to have become lingering due to the German entrenchment.

After arriving at the destination, Schell exchanged a few simple greetings with Admiral Hans-Zenkel, the Chief of the Navy, and Admiral Erich Redell, who had just arrived from Berlin, and then went to meet the crown prince William.

In the Atlantic Ocean, the Allied Fleets were defeated in a row, and in the British islands, the Allied Team was winning one after another. The right-wing legion, led by the 1st Armored Division of the Royal Guards, has advanced to the front line less than 50 kilometers away from London. The left-wing legion dominated by mountain soldiers has also approached Edinburgh, a military city in Scotland. Even if the British were determined to resist to the end, it seemed only a matter of time before the Allied Team occupied the entire British territory. Therefore, the German crown prince could still sit firmly in Paris as Mount Tai, and continue to control the battle situation as the chief of staff of the German army and the chairman of the Joint War Committee of the Allied.

The three major heads of the German Navy gathered here, of course, not just to discuss the situation of the war. The reason why William Little was summoned to come together was because Reinhardt Schell had volunteered to the top leaders to approve him to replace Bainke as commander of the Allied Fleet.

The German crown prince did not refuse or accept Schell's request for battle, but instead talked about the arduous and arduous journey of the sea. The effort of naval battle strategy was exhausted and the strong body and abundant energy, so it would be difficult to be competent for the role of fleet commander.

"Can your Highness have a more suitable candidate than you are?" Schell asked back.

The German crown prince's hesitation seemed to be making the final trade-off.

From his expression that was different from usual, Schell saw the clues, and he was both surprised and a little happy.

"How about His Majesty Joachim?" Little William looked up at Schell.

In the Battle of Jutland in 1914, veteran von Ingnore was the commander of the High Seas Fleet, and Schell was one of the commanders of the squadron under his command. There are many controversies between the two sides of the war in this naval battle, history and military scientists have many controversies. Only one thing is that almost everyone believes that the greatest contributor to the German Navy's victory was Prince Joachim, who served as the chief of staff of the German High Seas Fleet.

Regarding the Battle of Flanders and the Battle of the Faroe Islands that completely crushed the British Navy, people conducted detailed research on the historical data of war: the talented Prince Joachim was still the "key gentleman" who dominated the battle. As for von Ingnore and Schell, who later succeeded him as commander of the High Seas Fleet, the wisest thing was to give trust and support to the combat plan of the Fleet Chief of Staff, and showed the firmness and calmness that the commander should have in the battle. They deserved the title of "excellent fleet commander", but if they were truly on their own, no one could be sure whether they could win in such a decisive naval battle.

"Oh?" Schell raised his brow, "Your Highness wants His Majesty the King of Ireland to command the Alliance fleet?"

Little William did not comment: "How?"

Scher said: "But in the past half a century, I don't seem to have heard of any monarch who has personally gone to the battlefield."

The questioning of the Marshal's marshal was both clumsy and unconvincing. William chuckled: "Turning back a few decades, the French Emperor Napoleon I and the Russian Emperor Alexander I were both amazing commanders, but then again, no monarch led the fleet to fight in person. So, if His Majesty Joachim refused this invitation, I would never have any disrespectful thoughts to him."

At this time, Raidel put forward his opinion: "Since 1916, His Majesty Joachim has left the army's life and has been cruising much less time than before. Although his military talent is unquestionable, with the current situation, we need a commander who can enter the state immediately and not have much psychological burden. In this regard, I think Marshal Scher should be a more ideal candidate."

William thought carefully for a while: "Let's do it, let's prepare both ways. If Johen rejects my suggestion, Marshal Schell will be the commander of the Allied Fleet. If Johen accepts the suggestion, I will have a face-to-face discussion with him to see if he can cope with the current situation and then make the final decision."

As one of the parties involved, Reinhart Schell immediately stated: "It's so good."

Redell sat upright, not saying anything.

As for General Zenger, who was in charge of German Navy personnel, he did not make any statement from beginning to end.

At noon that day, a coded telegram sent in the name of William was presented to Xia Shu. He was not surprised at all about his elder brother, the first heir to the Hohenzollern family. After a safe nap, he summoned Prime Minister Roll McLean and the Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armies in the office to seek the opinions of these important officials.

From a political standpoint, the Prime Minister believed that the King of Ireland could consider taking over as commander of the Allied Fleet on the front line, but the premise was that he did not board the ship to command the battle under any circumstances, but instead planned in a relatively safe land command. If this premise cannot be guaranteed, it should be clearly rejected that the king's safety is directly related to the stability of Ireland and the fate of the six million Irish people, and it must not be lost.

From a military perspective, the generals felt that the command of the Allied Fleet was good and bad. The advantage was that it was conducive to improving Ireland's military status in the Allied camp, and that Irish ships could be given priority in combat, so that Irish naval officers and soldiers could gain more experience and suffer less losses. The disadvantage was that once the battle situation was unfavorable, not only would the king's reputation be affected, but Ireland's interests were also easily damaged.

Since the Prime Minister and the commander of the three armies were basically consistent with his own considerations, Natsuki said decisively: "After careful consideration, I decided to refuse the invitation of His Royal Highness the German Crown Prince."

The current Prime Minister Roll McLean, who has served as Irish Foreign Minister for a long time, immediately agreed. Army Commander General William Brandt and Air Force Commander General Robert DeBloomney were a little surprised, but they also felt that this decision was rational and steady, except for Navy Commander General Sean Purcell, who showed complex expressions.

Natsuki did not reveal his true thoughts to them. When the Prime Minister and the General left the palace, Major General Baker, chief of staff, was respecting the king's order and using the Irish Navy's intelligence and staff resources to sort out and analyze the current naval battle situation.

That night, Naruto came to the Irish Navy Staff and performed war chess with the staff officers as the commander of the Allied Fleet. After more than three hours of confrontation, he struggled to turn the situation around and won the victory of the simulated naval battle.

However, on the way back to the palace from the Navy Staff, Xia Shu had no joy of the winner, because he knew clearly that Baker and the staff officers did not do their best in the wargame deduction. The officers responsible for technical judgment also took on themselves intentionally or unintentionally, which allowed the Allied fleets in the wargame deduction to defeat the powerful American and British fleets. Moreover, the time span of this wargame deduction simulation was about two years. The number of ships supplemented by the two sides of the wargame deduction was assumed to be one to one. Now the industrial scale of the United States and Germany is not much different. However, the efficiency of the free market in democratic countries is obviously higher than that of the dictatorial countries and bureaucratic economies. Not to mention that the United States is conducive to building ships with all its might, even if it invests the same resources, the United States can explode more warships at a faster speed.

Recalling the thrilling scenes of the last battle, Natsuki couldn't help but sigh: The Battle of Azore failed to seize the opportunity, and it was indeed endless troubles!

After receiving the telegram from the King of Ireland that politely declined the invitation, William summoned Schell, Zenger and Redell to the office that night and told the truth about the situation.

Although this means that he may have the chance to re-embarrass the battle, Schell did not seem excited at all, but was a little disappointed and regretful. Erich Redell, who served as chief of staff of the German reconnaissance fleet, chief of staff of the High Seas Fleet, and chief of the Navy's Quarter-in-Chief until he became the head of the Imperial Navy Staff, did not speak for Schell anymore. He sat there quietly, waiting for the final result.

At the last moment, General Zenger said, "From Prussia to the German Empire, the Supreme Commander of the Admiralty has never happened. I have no doubt about Marshal Schell's command ability, but from a strategic perspective, this move is not appropriate, so I beg the Marshal to think carefully and make careful decisions."

"Can you have a better candidate than you?" Schell responded to Zenger's objection with the same rhetoric.

Zeng Kerr looked at Crown Prince William: "The qualifications of General von Dalvig and General von Reuter are not as capable as Marshal Schell, but with the marshal in the rear, you may be able to give it a try."

Schell said bluntly: "Dalvig is hesitant when encountering problems, and it is easy to miss the opportunity to fight. Reuter is too strong and lacks strategy. These two serving as commanders of the squadron, and commanding the fleets of the Allied Powers is not as good as Bainke."
Chapter completed!