Long live Joachim

Chapter 46: The Furious Scotland (Part 2) As people were concerned, shortly after the end of the Dublin World Aviation Expo, relations between British countries became tense due to a diplomatic dispute. Almost all diplomatic disputes stem from conflicts of national interests, and this time is no exception. The cause of the dispute was a ship, specifically an unfinished 10000 ton warship. It was the fifth Brave class large cruiser ordered by the former British Imperial Navy, with the construction code "Neptune". Construction began in September 1932 and was originally scheduled to enter service in 1934, but the construction process slowed down due to the outbreak of World War II. By the time the Commonwealth withdrew from the war, the completion rate of the ship's hull was only 70%. As the British Empire fell apart, the fate of this warship also became uncertain. Firstly, the British engineers at the shipyard were worried that the Germans would use it for their own purposes, so they burned all the drawings and materials. Later, the technical team of the German Navy conducted an on-site investigation and believed that this warship had no practical value to Germany. Later, allied countries such as Ireland, Italy, and Austria Hungary also had plans for it, but for various reasons, no country was able to take over. It eventually became a controversial legacy that the newly formed Scottish Republic received from the British Empire - the controversy lies in the fact that this warship was originally built with funding from the British government, and more than half of the British government's revenue came from England. Region,So the Kingdom of England claims two-thirds of the inheritance rights to this warship, and they propose two solutions: one is for the Kingdom of England to offset Scotland's one-third inheritance rights with funds to obtain full ownership of this unfinished warship, and the other is to auction it directly, with the Kingdom of England receiving two-thirds of the auction proceeds. The claim of the Kingdom of England seems reasonable, but the collapse of the British Empire was not self destructing, but forcibly dismembered by the Allied powers. The distribution of British territory, citizens, and resources among England, Scotland, and Wales was not truly legally and reasonably defined, but was forcibly dismantled under the supervision of the occupying forces. At that time, the war had just ended, and the primary task for both the Scottish Republic and the Kingdom of England was to rebuild social order on the ruins. No one had the energy to continue building a meaningless warship, but every time the Scottish side had the idea of auctioning and dismantling it, the English side would jump in and intervene. The ultimate result was that it remained idle at the Fairfield Shipyard in Glasgow until Barriol came to power. With the current capabilities of the Scottish government, it is certainly not enough to build a strong naval fleet, but Neptune is seen as a symbol of rebuilding the Scottish navy. Before 1942, the construction of the hull of this large cruiser continued at a very slow pace. However, starting from the spring of 1942, the Scottish authorities received technical assistance from Japan, and the construction speed of the "Neptune" was greatly accelerated, with a significant increase in modern military technology. In October 1942, the new warship named "Scotland" left Glasgow for sea trials, marking its first appearance in public with a majestic posture. Compared with large warships of the German Navy's heavy cruiser class and above, the "Scotland" did not have any particularly outstanding features, and the example of the sinking of the Soviet warship "Kirov" in the Sea of Japan showed that warships designed for naval warfare were not capable of high-intensity combat. Therefore, the German side's response to the construction of the "Scotland" was lukewarm, while the Kingdom of England, which was previously plagued by the "Scottish invasion theory", reacted strongly. They seized the issue of ownership of the warship and joined forces with Wales to challenge Scotland, demanding compensation from the Scottish government for both countries. However, the Scottish government strongly refused, and England and Wales submitted the dispute to the League of Nations for arbitration. As a result, the League of Nations has not yet made an arbitration. The domestic media in Scotland has been full of complaints. The Scottish government has also turned over the British Empire's treasury bond data as an article, pointing out that England should bear the bulk of the British Empire's legacy debt, including the huge amount of funds that should be paid to Scotland and Wales, which is enough to offset the so-called "pre construction costs of warships", and submitted a large number of so-called evidence to the League of Nations arbitration tribunal. In addition to retaliating through public opinion channels, Scotland also carried out demonstrations that worried the English people. The "Scotland", which has not yet been officially commissioned, led four light ships to cruise in the western waters of England, with the intention of showcasing the strength of the Scottish fleet to ships from various countries traveling to Liverpool. Thanks to the participation of the Japanese side, the superstructure of the "Scotland" has a strong Japanese style, including towering tower style bridges and antenna layouts. Many of the weapons and technical equipment on board are also authentic Japanese goods, not only with four impressive triple mounted 600mm heavy oxygen torpedo launchers, but also reportedly equipped with advanced fire control systems and detection radars. Despite the negative impact of the dispute caused by the "Scotland" on the stability of northern Europe, Germany failed to prompt the League of Nations to quickly make an arbitration decision that was conducive to resolving the dispute due to retaliatory votes from Italy and Austria Hungary at the League of Nations Council, and the League's arbitration decision was repeatedly delayed. Startled by the Scottish Navy's demonstration at the doorstep of the country, the Parliament of the Kingdom of England quickly passed a massive military procurement plan, significantly expanding the country's defense capabilities by ordering large quantities of aircraft, warships, and other weapons and equipment, and increasing the planned recruitment quota. Although European countries did not immediately take corresponding measures against the military actions of the British Empire, similar countries such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway have paid high attention to the development of the situation. On the one hand, they called on England and Scotland to exercise restraint, and on the other hand, they carefully evaluated the military strength and war potential of the British Empire to determine under what circumstances their countries need to adjust their military equipment. The conflict between England and Scotland has also caused a sense of crisis in Wales, which has the smallest land and population among the three British countries and the weakest strength. The call for support for Ireland and Wales to form a United Kingdom is unprecedentedly high, and the joint plan that has been brewing and operating for many years has become increasingly mature. However, the government authorities in Ireland and Wales did not rush to publicly push for the proposal to form a coalition government during this sensitive period, but instead proceeded with various preparations in an orderly manner. The reason why the attitude of most Welsh people has shifted from early opposition to approval is that the relationship between these two countries, which are separated by a narrow strip of water, has become inseparable in areas such as economy, trade, and defense. The economy and livelihoods of Wales were rapidly restored after the war, largely relying on Ireland's "friendship aid" and "brotherly price". As Joachim I, the "King of the Two Crowns," said during a meeting with the Scottish leader, even if other countries forcibly occupy Wales, they may not gain much from it and the investment required to maintain their rule may not be worth it overall. Time flies, the wheels of history roll into 1943, and the flames of war continue to burn fiercely in Northeast Asia, South Asia, and the Australian continent. Before the snow and ice in the northern wilderness melted, the Soviet army launched the "Spring Thunder" ahead of schedule. Although this attack, which involved nearly 700000 soldiers from three fronts, failed to completely defeat the Japanese Kwantung Army, it dealt a heavy blow to the crumbling puppet Manchukuo regime. More than 90% of the cities and counties under its rule declared independence from puppet Manchukuo rule, and this regime was basically in a state of name only existence. At the same time, the Soviet Air Force continuously bombed strategic targets in the Japanese archipelago. Although these bombings caused significant losses and had slow results, they gradually weakened Japan's war potential, forcing the Japanese government to invest a considerable amount of strategic resources in domestic air defense. In South Asia, the continuous supply of military aid from Western allied countries gave the Indian Federation the confidence to fight repeatedly. They gradually blocked the attacks of the Japanese army and Hindustan servants in the Narmada River basin, and the latter's sustained combat capability was weakened due to the elongation of supply lines. In order to break the deadlock, the Japanese Navy and Joint Army launched a landing operation in southwestern India, which once pushed tens of thousands of Indian Union troops into a desperate situation. At a critical moment, the Indian Union Air Force, which received a large number of European and American volunteers, defeated the Japanese aviation forces in southwestern India through continuous high-intensity operations, making great contributions to the successful breakout of the trapped troops. The battle for Australians to expel the Japanese invaders and regain their homeland was even more difficult than imagined. Although the two million white people who remained in Australia actively supported the resistance and guerrilla forces, the lack of heavy weapons and ammunition supplies made it difficult for Australian armed forces to launch a campaign level offensive against the Japanese troops defending city ports, and they could only continue to implement the "rural encirclement of cities" combat strategy. Fortunately, the wars in Northeast Asia and South Asia have constrained the main forces of the Japanese army, making it difficult for the Japanese headquarters to mobilize new forces to support the Australian battlefield. The Australian armed forces only need to face a total of slightly over 100000 Japanese quasi first and second line troops. As time goes by, the dawn of victory is emerging This year, Americans continued to recuperate and maintain stable competitive and cooperative relations with the Western Allies. Although there were cracks within the Western Allies, the dominance of Germany did not trigger a vicious arms race. In this situation, countries have made sufficient investments in scientific research, especially in military research. After weighing the pros and cons of all parties, the Americans ultimately accepted Ireland into their nuclear research program and will establish Europe's first experimental nuclear reactor in northern Ireland. The German government gradually realized the potential of the nuclear project, but did not choose to cooperate with the Americans like Ireland did, but relied on its strong physical research capabilities for independent research and development. In the field of jet fighters, Germany and Ireland maintain a leading advantage in their cooperation projects, followed closely by the United States, and countries such as Japan, Soviet Russia, and Austria Hungary have also joined the pursuit.