Long live Joachim

Chapter 12: First Trip to Tiger Mountain After a week-long visit to Denmark, Xia Shu and his group set off for their home country. So far, the number of European countries that have established formal diplomatic relations with Ireland has increased to 22, except for a few insignificant small southern European countries, only the United Kingdom has been reluctant to establish diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Ireland. Without the provisions of the London Armistice Treaty, the British would not easily recognize the legitimate status of the Kingdom of Ireland based on the enmity between England and Ireland. Before regaining the Belfast region and rightfully putting on the Irish crown, Natsuke had no intention of reaching a true reconciliation with Britain. However, since becoming a candidate for the Irish throne, he has never strongly criticized Britain in diplomatic occasions, nor has he tirelessly emphasized Ireland's unquestionable sovereignty over the Belfast region. Behind this is an orderly military and diplomatic preparation. After more than two months of training, the Irish Army, Navy, and Air Force have taken on a completely new look. Seven military academies targeting different levels have begun to operate, and all officers and over two-thirds of non commissioned officers are receiving primary training in batches. After screening, the soldiers who remain in active duty are young and strong young men. After rigorous formal training, they are able to correctly use their weapons and know the most basic tactics. Their combat capabilities have made significant progress compared to the period of the War of Independence. Returning to Ireland with fruitful diplomatic achievements, Xia Shu was satisfied to see that the military construction was proceeding in an orderly manner, and the officers and soldiers were always maintaining high fighting spirit, eager to try their best. Many people hated not to attack the Belfast area immediately. At present, although the three most elite infantry regiments of the Irish Army are sent to Eastern Europe to participate in the war, there are still more than 60000 regular troops left. With the addition of second-line reserve forces, it is not difficult to gather 100000 troops, while the British garrison in Belfast area has only about 10000 troops. At first glance, as long as the Irish army showed the courage to fight to the death, it should not be difficult to win this local war with all their might. However, during these two months, Britain was also actively preparing for military action. They mobilized local forces, transported labor and construction materials from the mainland, and built a large number of defensive fortifications in the Belfast area. The northeast corner of Ireland has become a military zone with numerous fortresses and trenches crisscrossing. Intelligence shows that the British garrison has stored a large amount of military supplies. Even if the Irish army uses the navy and air force to block the waterway, the British army, which stands firm, can rely on its reserves to independently support for a long time. No one can predict what changes will occur in the international situation at that time. Any war involves elements of adventure, and Xia Shu is fearless in this regard. However, his consistent style is to make as much preparation as possible before taking risks, and his grasp of the timing is his biggest advantage compared to ordinary military commanders. In his view, the British defense system in Belfast was just beginning to take shape, and the defending officers and soldiers were on high alert. At this time, the chances of attacking were not high, and even if Germany was dragged down by alliance terms, it would inevitably fall into a passive situation in the end. This situation was very unfavorable for the newly formed Kingdom of Ireland. To fight, one must have the confidence to win independently with the Irish army. Standing at this starting point, Xia Shu thought of the strategy of building a plank road openly and crossing Chen Cang secretly. He sent a diplomatic mission to the UK under the pretext of peacefully resolving the sovereignty issue of Belfast. The negotiations lasted for several days and neither side reached any consensus. However, this diplomatic contact itself was seen by the outside world as a strong signal of the two countries seeking peaceful coexistence. After the complete breakdown of the first round of negotiations, two weeks later, the Irish side took the initiative to propose a new round of negotiations. After the British government agreed, Ireland submitted a list of negotiating representatives. When they received this list, the British couldn't believe their eyes - the name of Joachim Franz Hubert, the candidate for the Irish throne, was prominently listed! After urgent discussions at the Imperial Council, King George V of England established the principle of "those who wish come, those who come" and made clear limitations on the scope of activities of the Irish negotiating delegation in the UK. Based on this, the police and military must strengthen their vigilance to ensure the safety of Irish candidates for the throne during their stay in the UK. George V saw this as a challenge to the authority and magnanimity of the British Empire, and decided to fight. However, some high-ranking officials of the British government and military did not think so. They were concerned that the so-called Hohenzollern genius, known for his cunning, had ulterior motives and could not go against the king's wishes. Therefore, they added a statement in their diplomatic reply to the Kingdom of Ireland, stating that a few extreme minded individuals in Britain may be detrimental to candidates for the Irish throne. Although the British government would provide comprehensive security protection, in the event of an accident beyond its power, the British government refused to take the main responsibility and would not allow any country to take advantage of the situation to turn the British Isles into the next Balkans. The Irish cabinet ministers, who were not accustomed to seeing the world, were frightened by the British statement. They urged Natsuke to cancel his trip, and even if he wanted to visit the UK, he would at least wait until the relationship between the two countries stabilized. Natsuke was not moved and instead comforted the ministers that if he unfortunately died in the UK, the entire UK would bury him. At that time, there would be no need for the Irish army to fight bloody battles, and the German army would naturally use siege artillery to level the British defense line in Belfast. The Irish cabinet ministers made concessions with skepticism, and upon learning that Xia Shu was preparing to go to England, the German royal family and government were also quite surprised. After all, the war sparked by the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand had not yet been extinguished, and in the event of a similar accident, Germany would have to go to war with Britain again. However, between support and opposition, the attitude of German generals played a leading role. They believed that the British had cunningly exploited loopholes in the London Armistice Treaty and obtained conditions for quickly restoring military strength through cooperation with the United States. The industrial strength of the United States is immense. If the current situation continues to develop, in a few years, Britain will once again have a main fleet that is no less powerful than Germany. If there is direct support from the United States and Japan, Germany will have to face a worse war situation compared to the summer of 1914. The best and most direct way is to immediately attack Britain, completely overthrow this country, and make it impossible for it to turn over. The support and guarantee from the German government have further strengthened Xia Shu's determination to go to the UK. Although this trip may seem fraught with crisis, it is not as bad as people imagine. The main reason why the British people are indignant about Ireland's independence is that the country has been divided due to external forces, causing great damage to its dignity and prestige. For the independence of Ireland, they did not have much resistance. It should be noted that Ireland's position in the political map of Britain was simply a colony close to the mainland. The Great Famine in Ireland in the mid-19th century was the best proof, and it was completely acceptable to lose a vegetable field and preserve the British Isles. On the other hand, Britain suffered consecutive defeats to Germany at sea, and the situation on land was basically the same. Europeans revered the strong, and the British gentlemen living in Britain were no exception. Therefore, when the British military and civilians learned that the strong man who had led the German navy's major operations had visited the British mainland, most people's mentality should have been full of surprise and curiosity. Xia Shu has never been the kind of reckless and reckless person, and has shown the delicate thinking of an engineer in many things. When he set foot on British soil again, just over two weeks had passed since the one-year anniversary of the Battle of Jutland, so he didn't rush to meet with British officials. Instead, he went to the military cemetery in Plymouth Port to lay flowers for the victims of the Battle of Jutland. There were no onlookers on the scene, let alone assassins. Even the invited journalists realized how important the news material they had obtained was only after Natsuke appeared. Reports with photos appeared in The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Daily Mail, and several local newspapers in the UK the next day. It wasn't until then that most British people knew that the rumored candidate for the Irish throne who was going to visit Britain had arrived. Staying at the flagship in Plymouth Port, Xia Shu did not travel easily except for diplomatic talks with official British representatives. Instead, he stayed in a heavily guarded hotel where uninvited people could not easily enter. However, he received at least two groups of journalists every day. In serious mainstream newspapers, he highly praised the performance of the British Navy in the war and attributed the victory of the German Navy to extremely strict training and uncontrollable luck factors. He also put forward good hopes for the prospect of peaceful coexistence between Ireland and Britain. In a popular newspaper, Xia Shu evaluated the gains and losses of the British fleet in several important naval battles from the perspective of his opponents. This unprecedented real-life description immediately aroused great curiosity among the British people, and the Daily Mail even sold out for several consecutive days. In order to attract public attention, Xia Shu sent an invitation through the Daily Mail to Admiral Jellicoe, the former commander of the British Grand Fleet, hoping to have a face-to-face exchange with him. This invitation immediately caused a sensation in the UK, as the dialogue between the two could unravel the ultimate truth behind the successive defeats of the British fleet. However, Jellicoe, who had already been relieved of his position as commander of the Grand Fleet, did not respond. At the negotiating table, official British representatives still refuse to make any concessions on the issue of ownership of the Belfast area. Xia Shu did not show Ireland's "military muscle" in order to make progress, but tirelessly declared that the normalization of Anglo Irish relations must be based on resolving the Belfast dispute. The four-day talks were unsurprisingly declared a failure. However, under the widespread attention of the British public and the outside world, King George V decided to hold a welcome banquet in the name of the royal family at Windsor Castle and sent an invitation to the candidate for the Irish throne who had been staying in Plymouth Port since arriving in England.