The winding rivers, the royal blue river water, the gentle river bank, and farmland are everywhere along the coast. This is the landscape of the Shannon River, the longest river in Ireland.

On the river northeast of Limerick, a milky white painted yacht carried dozens of passengers upstream. This small ship, less than 100 tons, adopts an old and novel catamaran structure. It is powered by an internal combustion engine. It is not as thick smoke as a steamship and dust is floating. The external deck is clean and tidy, and the interior space is spacious and comfortable. Its decoration is mainly modern and there are few expensive and luxurious items. In this regard, it seems to be somewhat out of place with the identity of the Royal Yacht.

It is not yet sowing season. Looking from the yacht to the river banks on both sides, the vast and flat fields give people a feeling of abundant resources. Benefiting from the Creator's blessing, the Shannon River Basin has been the main crop planting area in Ireland since ancient times. Now, after the Irish government's balanced agricultural and animal husbandry policy adjustments, Ireland's grain output has increased by 40% compared to before independence. It can meet the needs of all citizens in the year of bumper harvest. If there is a natural disaster and a bad harvest, some of the grain still needs to be imported.

When they arrived at an open bay in the river, the yacht was anchored and stopped sailing. Some passengers in particular dress started fishing with fishing rods, while others enjoyed the sunbathing leisurely on the deck.

In the past, Irish people lived in barren lives. When crops failed, it was difficult to catch fish in the river section near the downstream. The economic miracle of the Kingdom of Ireland gave ordinary families a stable source of living. In just over a year, more than two-thirds of the labor force left small villages and towns that have lived for generations and went to cities, industrial areas and roads to work. This large-scale migration and lifestyle changes have a great impact on the environment. Fortunately, with a visionary ruler like Xia Shu, naturally, he would not take the path of development first and then governance. Taking advantage of the opportunity to clear the Shannon Canal, he would rectify the vegetation along the coast as soon as possible, and ban fishing from seedlings. In addition, the residents along the coast were honest and simple, and followed the rules. After a few hours, everyone on the boat caught some fish with just a few fishing rods. After a pair of skilled chefs, a rich and delicious river-fresh meal immediately made everyone's appetite.

"I have been to Ireland twice, and I never thought it was so interesting." Crown Prince Edward praised it, but it was rather obscure. After all, the British royal family had ruled Ireland for many years, and their recognition of the effectiveness of the New Ireland regime was to admit their mediocrity and inaction.

A monarch with a broad mind would naturally not sarcastically at other people's braids, so Xia Shu smiled slightly and didn't say much.

Princess Mary blinked at Xia Shu mischievously and whispered: "Is it possible that... Your Majesty wants to turn Ireland into the most beautiful garden in the world. When flowers bloom here and are as beautiful as a fairyland, then marry your sweetheart in the most solemn way?"

Two days ago, she sent Charlotte's treasured "tulip" to Xia Shu and criticized him with embarrassment. Although she was unladying, Xia Shu's impression of her greatly changed, and the relationship between the two seemed much closer. However, Xia Shu was not stimulated by Princess Mary's words and was involuntarily used her own concerns, so she gave some explanations lightly. Her low and gentle voice almost made Princess Mary cry.

As Princess Mary said, Xia Shu really hopes to give Charlotte the best life, but he knew that Charlotte was not concerned about these things. As long as she could be with her without psychological burden, she would feel very happy even if she lived a very ordinary life. The problem now is that the relationship between Britain and Ireland is not good, and public opinion is particularly opposed. If Charlotte becomes the queen of Ireland, the Hill family will inevitably be despised and isolated by the people around her. This is a military family that regards honor as life. Even if they respect Charlotte's choice, they cannot get rid of the torture of humiliation. The reason why Charlotte left Xia Shu was unable to bear psychological self-blame.

Natsuki covered up his inner fluctuations with a calm expression, and then said to Princess Mary: "I heard that girls have all had ignorant dreams. His other half is a great hero. One day he will come to marry him in the most perfect posture."

Princess Mary hesitated for a moment and said with a coy face: "Yes, every girl has a fairy tale in her heart, either the princess and the prince, or Cinderella and the prince, and the prince must be handsome and elegant."

After hearing this, the gentlemen present smiled at the same time.

"I don't know what the perfect prince in my mind is like, the noble and elegant Princess Mary."

This voice comes from Irish Foreign Minister Roll McLean. Since the British ruled Ireland, many Gaelic nobles have successively intermarried with local British nobles. McLean's family is no exception, but only for female family members, and direct members still maintain pure bloodlines, so they maintain a high reputation among Gaelic nobles. During the famine in the last century, although these declining noble families were worried about their lives, the terrible disasters suffered by the entire nation made them hate and hate Britain. However, McLean never expressed his emotions in public, nor did he speak out in private, but always maintained the rationality and calm that a diplomat should have. This is something that Xia Shu attaches great importance to, so if German officials suppress impeachment, as long as they do not violate the principled issue, Xia Shu voted for him to trust him.

Everyone present knew that Princess Mary had a crush on His Majesty the King of Ireland. McLean's problem seemed a bit out of place, but it forced the other party to draw a line in public and help Xia Shu get rid of public doubts.

Princess Mary looked at Xia Shu and then turned her eyes to Crown Edward: "In families with elder brothers, most girls will unconsciously combine the conditions of a perfect prince with the image of an elder brother, and I should be in this situation."

This answer is clever and appropriate, and leaves room for space, demonstrating the agile thinking and quick style of the British princess. In addition, her extraordinary life experience, from a rational perspective, she is indeed an ideal spouse that the monarch or crown prince can meet.

"No wonder whenever I meet someone who can talk to me very much, our princess will be very interested in this person. It turns out that she is looking for her perfect prince as I am. But then again, there are very few such people." Crown Prince Edward teased and looked at Xia Shu with playfulness.

Natsuki gave him a smile out of politeness and continued to focus on dealing with the grilled fish on the plate.

The parties involved were unwilling to pay attention and everyone did not respond. Crown Edward felt bored and changed the topic: "In a few months, the World Expo held in Ireland will open. This is an international ceremony that is much more grand than the Air Expo. The number of exhibits and visitors is counted in multiples. I think Limerick's urban construction seems to have slowed down. I don't know if the supply of building materials cannot keep up or other problems have been encountered. Although the United Kingdom is not the country with the most held World Expo, the first and most exciting ones are held in the UK. Many experiences will help Ireland to hold the fair."

Xia Shu was picking the fish bones with a knife and fork, so he did not answer immediately. At the moment of silence, the atmosphere was a bit strange. The British officials who accompanied him thought Ireland was indeed in trouble, but they were reluctant to speak because of their face. After cleaning up the fish on one side and eating it beautifully, Xia Shu replied: "Thank you for your kindness. In fact, our preparations are going according to the plan. If there is any problem, there are some self-built venues in some countries that are slower than the scheduled construction period. If there is still no improvement in the future, we have to intervene."

"Oh?" A curiosity appeared on Crown Prince Edward's face. He turned his attention to the accompanying trade department officials, "How is the progress of our exhibition hall construction?"

The official replied with his head held high and said, "It will be completed in five weeks. According to what we know, the British pavilion is among the top in all countries, with first-class appearance and decoration standards."

Crown Prince Edward nodded with satisfaction.

The holding of the World Expo is neither limited to the time span nor the rigid restrictions on the qualifications. However, it is extremely expensive and requires the response and support of various countries. It is difficult to hold without a certain national strength and influence. Before Ireland announced the holding of the World Expo, 15 World Expo was held by six countries. Except for Australia and the Netherlands, the rest were powerful countries with strong strength. The French were particularly keen on this. From 1855 to 1900, they were held in Paris, and 4 times in the United States, and 4 cities were hosted by 4 different cities.

It is worth mentioning that although Germany's comprehensive national strength has long been ranked second in the world, and the victory of the war has brought the country's international reputation to an unprecedented level. They have never held a World Expo and have no intention of being prepared to hold it, but they have never missed the World Expo held in other countries. Krupp's cannons always attract people to stop and harvest exhibits with a lot of orders.

After a war that swept across Europe, Britain, France, Russia and Austria were both severely damaged, so they were eager to revive their national strength by expanding trade and stimulating the economy. The successful holding of the Global Aviation Expo made the whole world admire Ireland. Therefore, after the Irish government announced the holding of a comprehensive World Expo in the fall of 1917, countries responded. The expo pavilions have always been divided into two forms: self-built and leased. The British and Austro-Hungarian Empires invested on their own.

For design and construction, France and Russia rented existing venues built by the host, and the German government continued its usual frugal style and chose to rent them. However, given the special relationship between the two countries, the Irish government provided additional preferential conditions for German allies to build the German exhibition hall according to the design plan negotiated by both sides. After the exhibition, the exhibition hall will be permanently retained to commemorate the contributions made by German volunteers during the Irish War of Independence.
Chapter completed!