Long live Joachim

Chapter 150: After Storm (Part 2) After a brief pause on the Dublin front, the German Irish coalition began a new round of attack. Ground artillery concentrated on several strategically important areas, and then the firepower of field guns and heavy howitzers gradually extended backwards. German warships cruising near Dublin also joined the shelling. This time, the coalition soldiers did not receive strong resistance before advancing to the British fortifications 100 meters away. However, afterwards, the firepower of machine guns and cannons intertwined, forming a sea of thick smoke and fire. This is an indescribable scene, with infantry falling one after another, and bodies piling up in some areas. The defenders continuously fired machine guns from the bunkers and ruins, and the bloody massacre was shocking. However, the Irish soldiers and their German allies did not shrink from it. They crawled over the bodies of their fallen comrades one after another, with only one thought in their hearts: to defeat the British! The British army's positions in the urban area were cleverly deployed, with many firepower points evading the enemy's artillery fire suppression. More than a month ago, they used this tactic to defeat the Irish Volunteer Army, which had a significant military advantage at the time, but this time they failed. The biggest difference between the two is that the German troops have strong offensive capabilities. The battle reached noon, and the three German assault arrows had penetrated deep into the city of Dublin, with the blue sea in sight. On the smoke filled streets, someone raised a white flag and demanded a ceasefire for negotiations. 25 minutes later, Duke Hill arrived at the frontline command center of the coalition as the British negotiator, where he saw a familiar face. Upon hearing that Duke Hill had arrived, Xia Shu did not deliberately change out of his military uniform that had been stained during his inspection of the front line of the battle. Instead, he simply washed his face, combed his hair neatly, and wore the Grand Cross, which symbolizes the highest military honor of the German Empire, at his collar. With a cup of fragrant hot tea, he quietly waited for the appearance of his old friend. We meet again, Your Excellency the Duke, "Xia Shu politely extended his hand. The Duke of Hill, who tried to suppress his emotions but couldn't hide his physical and mental well-being, was not surprised at all. He politely shook hands with the other party and then said in a cold and emotionless tone, "Under Andros Hill, Admiral of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, at the request of Sir James Grelson, Commander of the 1st Irish Army, we request a ceasefire from your side Xia Shu invited the Duke of Hill to sit down, but the stubborn British soldier stood there without looking sideways. The two armies are facing each other, and the victory or defeat is already divided. Although Xia Shu is not domineering, he has no intention of pleasing the other side. He calmly said, "Well, Your Excellency, in the current situation, there is only one possibility of a ceasefire, and that is for you to surrender your weapons The Duke of Hill has ten thousand unwillings, and the ironclad reality is in front of him. There is no hope for foreign aid, and domestic aid is insufficient. If the Commonwealth army continues to resist stubbornly, it will inevitably lead to a tragic end of complete annihilation. He said slowly, "Sir Gleason asked me to convey to you, as the commander of the coalition forces, that he greatly admires the fighting spirit of the Irish and German coalition forces, and regrets not being able to lead his troops to victory. Now, his only mission is to ensure that these British soldiers who have already fought diligently live to answer their families. I believe that with His Highness's character, he will be able to save the lives of every British soldier after we lay down our weapons and ensure that they are repatriated to England as prisoners of war after the war ends After carefully considering each word, Xia Shu promised, "As long as you unconditionally lay down your weapons, I guarantee the safety of each and every one of you and guarantee fair prisoner of war treatment in accordance with the Hague Convention Duke Hill breathed a light sigh of relief and said, "Thank God Xia Shu once again made a gesture to invite the other person to sit down, but Duke Hill did not refuse. He picked up the teacup and took a few sips of the brewed hot tea into his mouth. After the Duke's troops left Limerick, they moved all the way to Dublin? "Xia Shu was actually asking this question knowingly. The troops under the Duke of Hill were initially considered to have strong combat capabilities among the British army stationed in Ireland. After several reorganizations and supplements, they became the 2nd Army of Britain and Ireland, but their strength and equipment never reached the level of expeditionary forces sent to the Western Front. After evacuating from Limerick, this unit made its way to Dublin. Several intact regiments were sent to the front line in Cork, while the remaining units have remained in Dublin to this day. As a defeated general, Duke Hill had no intention of exploring this shameful past. He "hmm" and stared at the teacup in silence for two minutes before lifting his head to face Xia Shu: "I heard that His Highness has decided to give up his membership in the German royal family and accept the election of the Irish interim government as king Xia Shu noticed that the Duke had quietly changed his address from "Your Excellency" to "Your Highness", which meant a change in the status of both sides' business affairs. However, he did not turn a hot face towards each other, but responded with the same "hmm". In the past, I thought you were just a potential threat to the Royal Navy, but later in Limerick, I realized that your threat was more than that. Unfortunately, things have gone beyond the worst expectations, and now you can be called the number one criminal who divides Britain Upon hearing Duke Hill's disrespectful words, the German officer next to him, who understood English, immediately glared at him angrily. However, upon hearing Xia Shu's laughter, he silently stared at him. No one has the ability to divide Britain, and the real culprit is actually the creator you just thanked, "Xia Shu said. Duke Hill was stunned for a moment, then stared coldly at Xia Shu. Xia Shu calmly asked, "If Germany were to be defeated, would you let it continue to maintain its pre war unity Duke Hill did not answer, but the answer is obvious. Xia Shu explained, "Since a war has broken out, the defeated party will inevitably be punished by the victorious party, and this war was not deliberately provoked by anyone, but the inevitable result of long-term conflicts of interest among countries, which is an unavoidable historical law of human development. Therefore, in summary, it can be said to be God's arrangement But if it weren't for His Highness's actions, Britain wouldn't have been easily defeated, and the Irish wouldn't have had any hope of armed independence, "said the Duke of Hill with resentment. Xia Shu smiled and spoke the latter half of the sentence for Duke Hill, "If you had known this situation would happen today, Your Excellency, you would have personally killed me at the dinner party in Limerick, wouldn't you Duke Hill chuckled self deprecatingly, neither confirming nor denying, after all, who could have such astonishing foresight? Xia Shu elegantly drank tea and said calmly, "This war is coming to an end soon, and no more people will lose their lives. This is something to be grateful for. Also, we will become closer neighbors, Your Highness At first, Duke Hill's face was full of anger upon hearing these words, but then it turned into an expression of 'you look good'. After the heavy blow of this war, Britain's economic, military, and diplomatic prestige have declined significantly, but a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Even if Ireland always has the support of Germans, with the diplomatic intelligence of the German government, it is still easy for Britain to suppress Ireland. Xia Shu saw the Duke of Hill's inner thoughts, but on such an occasion, he had no need to provoke the other party and turn the long-standing feud between the two families into a deep one. However, the previous help to the Duke of Hill's eldest son to get out of trouble had already made a good start in a positive direction. If there are no issues, I think His Excellency the Duke can sign this ceasefire agreement on behalf of Sir Gleason. The two armies will officially cease fire from now on, each rescuing the wounded and disposing of the bodies of the dead. At exactly 7am tomorrow morning, the coalition forces will officially take over the city of Dublin. How about that Duke Hill received the text of the ceasefire agreement from Xia Shu's adjutant. In the more than 130 years since the American Revolutionary War, British generals have signed numerous ceasefire agreements, but none of them were signed without victory. The Duke of Hill unfortunately became the "first man" for over a century, but it is foreseeable that as Britain declines, ceasefire agreements with surrender as the outcome will continue to emerge in future wars in which British troops participate. In Dublin, over 90000 Commonwealth soldiers who had not yet withdrawn surrendered to the German Irish coalition, with half of them coming from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. By the time of surrender, over 40% had lost their combat effectiveness due to injuries. In the eyes of the outside world, the elite German army was the main force of the coalition forces attacking Dublin this time, while the Commonwealth army chose to give up after holding out with no hope. From commanders to ordinary soldiers, everyone had done their best - with this self comforting mentality, all levels of the British held new expectations for the second round of ceasefire talks. At the Thames Estuary, representatives of Britain and its federal countries held consultations and talks with representatives from Germany, Austria Hungary, Italy, Ottoman Türkiye and Bulgaria for two weeks. The reason why the ceasefire negotiations took much longer than those in France is precisely because of the complex colonial interests of the British Empire around the world. On May 25, 1915, the Commonwealth and allied countries reached a consensus on the main terms of the ceasefire treaty. On this day, the hastily renovated Trinity Cathedral in Dublin held a ceremony of great significance to the Irish people - the Archbishop of Ireland appointed by the Roman Catholic Church announced the restoration of Ireland's sacred independent kingdom status and confirmed that German royal family member and Prussian Prince Joachim had the qualifications to become a candidate for the Irish throne. Subsequently, the Parliament of the Kingdom of Ireland held a meeting and officially elected Prince Joachim from Prussia as the candidate for the Irish throne. It was also announced that as long as the candidate could lead the Irish army to expel all British troops on the island of Ireland and prove their ability to defend Irish independence and sovereignty, they would be crowned as the new King of Ireland - the first non English ruler of Ireland since 1169.