Long live Joachim

Chapter 27: Back Road On July 27, 1888, the fifth son of German Emperor Wilhelm 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 arrived at Reykjavik Port one day ahead of schedule with Queen Charlotte. 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 undergone a transformation, becoming a modern northern port with a brand new royal palace rising from the ground, giving people a fairy tale like dreamlike feeling against the backdrop of mountains and cold vegetation. If we were in an era of long-term peaceful development, being a monarch of a small country far away from worldly disputes would be easy and comfortable. However, Europe's golden decade has passed, and the global financial crisis has triggered a series of economic and political crises. With the formation of the New Entente camp, the international situation has become increasingly dangerous, to the extent that German soldiers account for the vast majority of foreigners who have recently come to Reykjavik. The presence of former colleagues may make Oscar, as the king of Iceland, feel at ease, but such a way of life is not something he likes to see. Compared to the current pseudo prosperity, Icelanders clearly prefer the peaceful and simple life of the past, so they have never had a good impression of the king "invited" by the parliament, and Oscar has no intention of managing this inconspicuous small country. The relationship between monarch and 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 either. Despite invitations from the Icelandic government, the German royal couple, the heir apparent, and important military and political officials in Germany sent their blessings by letter or telegram. Among the other princes and princesses of the German royal family, except for Xia Shu, only relatively idle Eitel and Louise were invited to come. As a birthday star, Oscar's emotions were not high during the celebration, and his smile was forced. However, his children were clever and lovely, like angels, which made others envious. Among the foreign officials who came to congratulate him on his birthday, Xia Shu was surprised to see the figure of British Foreign Secretary Neville Chamberlain. In the old era, Chamberlain was notorious for implementing appeasement policies during his tenure as British Prime Minister. However, this was not entirely the result of his personal decisions, but was closely related to the historical background, international situation, and public opinion atmosphere. In this era, as the loser of the last major war, Britain endured hardships and worked hard to govern after the war. The whole country was looking forward to avenging its previous shame. Chamberlain, born into a political family, and his Conservative Party supported and devoted themselves to the cause of British rejuvenation. Starting from 1922, Chamberlain served as the Secretary of State for Health, Finance, and Foreign Affairs in three cabinets. His greatest contribution as Foreign Secretary was his participation in secret meetings between the United States, Britain, Japan, and the Soviet Union, and representing the British government in signing secret treaties. Coming from the hot and humid London to the cool Reykjavik, Chamberlain's purpose was naturally not to escape the heat. There was neither any conflict between Britain and Iceland that could be resolved, nor any deep friendship that could be discussed. After the celebration event, Xia Shu stayed in Iceland for a few days. When all the foreign envoys and guests left, he had a private conversation with Oscar as brothers. Without any outsiders, Oscar said with a bitter smile, "The British know that I, the King of Iceland, am just a puppet of the German royal family and government. I have no power to decide Iceland's future, let alone refuse Germany's use of Iceland's ports and bases during wartime. So they promised me that if British troops landed in Iceland, they would ensure the safety of me and my family, and let me continue to serve as the King of Iceland, and would provide Iceland with a considerable amount of economic assistance after the war ends As the King of Ireland, Xia Shu has long been very thorough in studying the strategic situation around his country. Iceland is located directly north of Ireland and the United Kingdom, over 500 kilometers from the Faroe Islands, over 800 kilometers north of British Isles, 1100 kilometers north of Ireland, and over 400 kilometers north of Iceland is Greenland, which is covered in ice and snow all year round. Although in the late 2010s, Germany forced the Danish government to allow them to establish several military weather stations and small bases for submarine supplies in Greenland, the world's largest island 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 "overlook" Iceland from a high latitude position. At that time, unless the German navy can firmly control the North Atlantic waters, Iceland's involvement in war is almost inevitable. Whether it falls or not, the days of the Icelandic royal family will be foreseeable and bleak. Seeing Oscar's lack of fighting spirit, Xia Shu deliberately asked with provocative words, "Isn't that a clear statement that puts you in opposition to the German royal family and makes the name of Oscar synonymous with betrayal and cowardice Oscar was not angry at Xia Shu's words at all. He buried his face in his hand and said dejectedly, "So what should I do? Jochen, what can I do? This is too far from the German mainland, and Germany cannot station a large number of troops here. The British only need one infantry regiment to occupy Iceland Xia Shu comforted, "Don't be so discouraged. Maybe Britain doesn't have a chance to send troops to land in Iceland at all. Maybe the war will end after one or two years. Maybe all the worries won't come true Oscar remained silent for a moment before asking, "But who knows Indeed, once the confrontation between the two major camps escalates to the level of war, it is difficult to say who wins or loses. The overall strength of the Allied powers is not much stronger than that of the United States, Britain, Japan, the Soviet Union, and Canada. Both sides have their own strengths and weaknesses, and their diplomatic strategies, military performance, and even unpredictable luck factors jointly determine the direction of the war. The only thing that can be certain is that if war broke out in the mid to early 1930s, there would not have been nuclear weapons involved. Xia Shu did not refute, but slowly asked, "What are your plans Oscar sighed and looked at Xia Shu with eager eyes, "Yuheng, can I trust you Without hesitation, Xia Shu nodded and said, "Of course Oscar's disappointed expression softened slightly, then he whispered, "Please prepare a warship for me, preferably a cruiser or submarine, so that I can take my family to Ireland for refuge at a critical moment The reason why he came to Ireland for refuge instead of returning to Germany, Xia Shu speculated that Oscar's main consideration was distance: the distance from Iceland to Ireland was only one-third of that to Germany, and the farther the distance during the war, the less safe it was. When the war ended, he could also return to Iceland as soon as possible to take over the government - of course, that was based on the premise that the German camp won the war. Although Ireland's naval strength ranks among the top eight in the world, it is a weak presence in front of any of the main fleets of Germany, the United States, Britain, and Japan, and cannot afford any negligence. It would be too luxurious to dispatch a cruiser or submarine specifically for the King of Iceland to escape. After some consideration, Xia Shu replied, "The Irish Navy has equipped a long-range seaplane reconnaissance aircraft that can travel from Reykjavik to Limerick in just four hours. It can handle various harsh weather conditions, take off and land day and night, and has better performance than the German Navy's Junker-36. The possibility of being intercepted by enemy planes between Iceland and Ireland is extremely low. I can assure you that as long as there are signs of a major war, I will immediately dispatch one of these aircraft to Reykjavik for your deployment. In addition, the Irish army has secretly built a very safe wartime camp in the northern suburbs of Limerick, with a complete set of living facilities for hundreds of people to use. You and your family can live there throughout the war period. However Xia Shu's words in front of him made Oscar nod uncontrollably, but the final twist made his heart skip a beat and he quickly asked, "But what Xia Shu paused for a moment and explained, "But if a major war really breaks out, Ireland's situation is not much better than Iceland's. Because Ireland is very close to Britain, it is a strategic location for blockading and besieging Britain by sea and air during the war. In order for the British to turn the tide through the war, they must first win two victories, one is to defeat the German navy and the other is to capture Ireland. If our enemies focus on Europe in the war, then Ireland may be attacked before Iceland Although Oscar widened his eyes, there was not much surprise in his gaze, and this situation should have been something he could have anticipated. However, Ireland is different from Iceland. Xia Shu arrived with the aura of a liberator and became a hero admired and supported by the Irish people through the Irish War of Independence and the territorial struggle against Britain. After the war, he led the Irish people in successful economic construction and had strong industrial and military strength. Today's Ireland is not something that the British can occupy just by wanting to. Can Ireland avoid getting involved in a devastating war? "Oscar tentatively asked. No, "Xia Shu answered decisively. A few simple letters were a comprehensive consideration of a country's political system strategy, a profound understanding of the principle of" losing one's lips and teeth ", and a firm decision to uphold national dignity and personal beliefs. In these inconclusive assumptions, Oscar is not willing to put himself in a role of doing nothing and only escaping. He said, "If possible, I am willing to lead my guard to fight against the British army with you Xia Shu continued, "Maybe we can work together to create a miracle of the weak defeating the strong Since it is a miracle, the probability of achieving it is not too high. The result of fighting side by side may be to die together on the battlefield. Oscar hesitated for a moment and asked cautiously, "What's your worst plan Xia Shu shrugged and said, "I was killed in action What if I hadn't died in action? "Oscar asked," I wouldn't have volunteered to die, would I Xia Shu knew what answer the other party wanted. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "Establish an Irish exile government in Germany and lead troops to continue fighting against our enemies Oscar was finally satisfied and began to feel sorry for himself, saying, "I envy you so much. There is a group of people who are loyal to you, unlike me. When we really want to escape Iceland, there may not be many supporters accompanying us except for our family and followers. How can we establish an exile government? Besides, I think if the war situation really reaches the point where you have to leave Ireland, it may not be a bad thing for Germany. His Majesty the Emperor will let you command the fleet again. In that case, our chances of winning the war will actually increase Xia Shu chuckled lightly and said, "How could the German fleet be handed over to a foreign monarch for command Others may not be able to do it, but you are different, "Oscar said with some flattery." If the German Navy is really forced into a very unfavorable situation, people will surely think of the person who led the German Navy to defeat strong 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 Xia Shu does not deny the possibility mentioned by Oscar. Long ago, he had made the worst plan for Ireland to be occupied by the enemy. However, as Ireland's military preparations continued to deepen, in his opinion, the probability of such a situation decreasing. Therefore, once war broke out, he was not considering his own way out, but how to defend his homeland and people at the minimum cost.