The Irish were descendants of the ancient Kelt people, yet despite possessing vast fertile lands, they had long failed to develop an independent, unified nation-state.
For national independence, the Irish had struggled for centuries. Especially after the Great Famine erupted in the mid-19th century, Ireland's population plunged from eight million to fewer than four million, and they became utterly estranged from the London government.
After the outbreak of the First World War, the Irish independence movement surged for a time, only to be crushed in the end. The British also made concessions.
Limited national autonomy clearly could not satisfy the Irish. In order to obtain complete national independence, they soon threw in their lot with the Bulgarians.
"Mr. Sim, why are you here? Is everything all right back home?" intelligence officer Rhys asked in surprise.
Rather than answering directly, Sim asked, "Rhys, how are the Irish preparations coming along?"
"The Irish have a strong desire for independence. They are willing to help us land on Ireland, but they need the Holy Alliance's endorsement. They demand that we publicly declare Ireland independent and guarantee that their sovereign independence will not be violated!" Rhys said after giving it some thought.
"We can agree to that. The homeland has no interest in Ireland in the first place; we had already intended to let Ireland become independent." Sim smiled faintly.
Compared with the Irish enthusiasm for independence, he was more worried about their strength—whether they could provide meaningful assistance to the main force during the landing operation.
"Mr. Sim, the Irish independence organizations lack weapons, ammunition, and food. We'll have to solve that problem as well!" Rhys said with a frown.
Sim pondered for a moment. "Mm, weapons and ammunition won't be too difficult. We can ask the air force for help and have