On a sunny day, at the Scottish Prime Minister's Office in the center of Edinburgh, the staff watched in surprise as the Minister of Defense, General Hugo Elsess, frowned, clenched his fists, and hurriedly walked through the corridor. Arriving at the office of "National Leader" Alex Chagos Baliol, there was a loud knock on the door. After receiving the permission, the middle-aged man who became successful by following Baliol couldn't wait to enter the room. The moment before the door was closed, the secretary who was waiting for the demolition in the adjacent office clearly heard Elseth yelling. "No, my leader". "Why are you panicking?" The Scottish dictator stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back and responded to the defense minister he had promoted with a tone of comfort rather than reprimand. Only then did Elseth realize that he was indeed a little abrupt. He paused and said, "I'm sorry, my leader, because this matter is not trivial and makes people very anxious." Baliol pointed to the sofa: "Sit down. "Elseth sat down and said, "According to reports, an American fleet arrived at the outer port of Limerick this morning, and its lineup included at least three cruisers and five destroyers. What's abominable is that the Americans are here. The flag of the United States and the United Kingdom are hung on the flagpole, which is exactly the same as when Ireland sent ships to assist the United States in the Philippine Campaign. What does this mean that the Americans will provide assistance to the military attack that the New United Kingdom may launch at any time! Isn't it normal for Americans to reciprocate?" Baliol seemed unfazed, as if he had already guessed or learned about this situation. "But according to the armistice treaty signed in 1937, the United States is not allowed to deploy any military force beyond 85 West Longitude without the permission of the Allied Powers!" Elseth explained, "The arrival of this American fleet must be approved by the Germans. "My general, with the strength of the Scottish navy, we are at a disadvantage whether or not the United States intervenes. In today's situation, I don't think we need to over-interpret this move by the Americans." The United Kingdom has announced that it is about to hold a cross-border joint military exercise. It is reasonable for the Americans to send a fleet. Remember, as long as we do not go to war with the New United Kingdom and England, even if the Americans send the entire navy, it will not work. It's just a matter of cheering for them, and it won't solve any problems," Baliol analyzed calmly. But Elseth's anxiety was not resolved by these words. He argued: "What you said makes sense, but judging from intelligence from all sides, our opponents may have made up their minds to use military means to eliminate Scotland's opposition. They threatened. Don¡¯t you think that the Italian government also made compromises when faced with the threat of war? Didn¡¯t it result in a joint attack by the New United Kingdom and the Austro-Hungarian Empire? We must make all preparations for war in advance! Leader, be prepared for everything!" Baliol walked to the Minister of Defense and sat down with a heavy expression: "On paper, we have a defense force that is not inferior to England, but we must admit that the Scottish army lacks combat experience and cutting-edge technology. Without weapons and the will to fight the enemy desperately, we may not be able to win even if we only fight the English army, let alone the terrifying military machine of the New United Kingdom. Therefore, we cannot fall into the death swamp of war under any circumstances. We must do everything possible to avoid war. At the same time, we must continue to take the initiative in diplomatic negotiations and cannot retreat because of the enemy's military deterrence." Elseth said with some frustration: "I don't care about diplomacy, and I am not good at diplomacy. We can only be responsible for the military. "At the moment, our situation is indeed not optimistic, but when the Japanese army arrives, the situation will be greatly improved, a great improvement!" Baliol deliberately strengthened his tone. . "I know that although the Japanese army arriving in Scotland only has one mixed division, it represents the attitude of the Japanese Empire to intervene in the situation in Europe. This is enough to make our opponents turn their attention to the east." Elseth made a self-righteous speculation. Baliol did not speak, but sighed slightly. When he took office, he was full of daydreams about the future of Scotland. However, step by step, old problems have not been completely solved, and new problems have emerged one after another. A virtuous circle has not been formed, and a vicious circle has become bigger and bigger. National defense construction and Social welfare seems to have achieved great results, but in fact it relies on borrowing new money to repay old ones. If domestic conflicts cannot be transferred out, the Scottish government will collapse due to a financial crisis in a few years. As the illusion of high social welfare is torn apart If it is broken, his own prestige will also be gone. Baliol glanced at Elseth, who was neatly dressed but looked uncertain. If you had one or two talented generals under your command and an efficient military staff, when the "Baby Crisis" broke out, you would not have to retreat at the last moment. Instead, you would use Ireland, Wales, and EnglandOr give it a try if there is still a chance. In that case, you don't have to work day and night and rack your brains in the past few years. It is precisely because of Scotland's limited military strength that the diplomatic crisis caused by the Salom Bay dispute was sometimes blustery, making people exclaim that "the British Civil War is inevitable", and sometimes calm, making people mistakenly think that the crisis was imminent. It was resolved through negotiations, with all kinds of twists and turns, ups and downs, making followers feel like they were on a roller coaster, but it never turned into a war, or even a fierce military confrontation. At the negotiation table, the Scottish government agreed to make concessions on the resettlement issue of Salom Bay residents, but asked to participate in the development of the North Sea oil fields and share the profits from the North Sea oil fields, while the new United Kingdom only agreed to provide one-time or annual cash compensation. , and will not allow any country to interfere with the North Sea oil fields they have developed after years of research and huge investment. As a result, both sides insisted on their own opinions, and diplomatic negotiations have not made substantial progress. In order to force the other party to make concessions, Scotland did not hesitate to win over Norway and Denmark to negotiate with the New United Kingdom¡¯s exclusive rights to exploit North Sea oil fields, and even submitted an arbitration application to the League of Nations. ¡°Let¡¯s do this first! General! In recent times, we have continued to closely monitor the New United Kingdom. Kingdom and the Kingdom of England. Remember, there must be no military conflict with these two opponents before the Japanese army arrives." Finally, Baliol told his Minister of Defense. "Understood, my leader." Elseth said with a sullen face, "The Scottish army will unconditionally execute your orders and trust all your judgments unconditionally!" Baliol nodded and said "Very good", The tone seemed pale and feeble. When the Japanese task force mixed combat division assembled and boarded the ship, and was about to start a journey of thousands of miles, at the invitation of the new United Kingdom, the 1st Mechanized Artillery Brigade of the US Army had arrived in Ireland, preparing to play the role of the attacker in the "1949 Peace Exercise". This elite unit is called the Artillery Brigade, with a strength of 17,502. Together with the accompanying officer inspection team and rocket test battalion, the total number of officers and soldiers arriving in Ireland exceeds 20,000. Its size is not comparable to the Japanese mixed combat division. Up and down, the weight and effect are even better. The brigade has an armored field artillery regiment, a towed howitzer regiment, a baggage regiment, and a reconnaissance battalion, an air defense battalion, and an infantry installation battalion. In addition to being equipped with tracked self-propelled artillery, tracked artillery tractors and various types of towed artillery, it is also equipped with the "Odin Eye II" gun sighting radar jointly developed by the United States and the New United Kingdom. Its combat effectiveness and mobility are more traditional. The artillery force has improved exponentially. In the New Austrian-Italian War, the New United Kingdom showed the world an invincible military force and a revolutionary three-dimensional war model. People are not only impressed by the superior combat capabilities of Fenia-class aircraft carriers and the precise combat effects of guided rockets, but also shocked by the powerful assault power of armored clusters and mechanized corps. However, they underestimate the role played by artillery, the king of traditional land warfare, on the battlefield. effect. During the war, the New Austrian Allied Forces invested more than 20,000 artillery pieces on the Italian front line and consumed more than 9.5 million rounds of artillery shells. However, most of the artillery participating in the war came from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and were old-fashioned from the First and Second World Wars. There are many artillery pieces, so they are ignored by observers intentionally or unintentionally. Objectively speaking, without the full support of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's artillery, the coalition ground forces would never have been able to successfully break through the Italian border defenses, let alone quickly capture the fortress-like Venice. Also at the invitation of the new United Kingdom, the Austro-Hungarian Empire sent the 5th Heavy Artillery Regiment of the Imperial Wehrmacht, known as the "Imperial Thunder". During World War I, this unit went to the Western Front to assist the German army in fighting France. During World War II, this unit traveled across the ocean and participated in the Battle of Britain, the Battle of Panama and the Battle of Florida. It was the most decorated and most decorated unit of the Austro-Hungarian Empire since it entered the 20th century. The most famous army unit. Today, the regiment is equipped with 12 280 mm caliber Skoda M1938 heavy howitzers and 8 305 mm caliber "Karl" self-propelled mortars. Although the absolute number of artillery is not large, it threatens the battlefield with astonishing destructive power. Spain, which missed the war with Italy because of its hesitation and hesitation, also sent the 1st and 6th Royal Air Defense Battalions, which they regarded as their elite air defense forces. These two troops made their debut in the late stages of the Azores Campaign, and later participated in League of Nations peacekeeping missions twice. They are one of the few capable troops in the Spanish army. Nowadays, the department is equipped with the "Trumper" mobile air defense radar purchased by the Spanish military at a high price, and is equipped with four 13mm self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, twin 40mm self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and towed 75mm semi-automatic anti-aircraft guns. Old weapons and equipment have been replaced, and most of the officers and soldiers under its jurisdiction are veterans who have served for more than three years. Their proficiency in operating air defense weapons and equipment is among the first-class in the Spanish army. (End of this chapter)