Chapter 874 Is there really a warship escort?
Inside the Luna's cockpit, Hua Chong looked at Chen Cheng with a smug look on his face. "Old Chen, could you please use your brain? Our boss is so impressive, what's wrong with a warship escort?"
Chen Cheng looked depressed: "Just pretend I didn't say anything. I'm going back to rest. I'll leave the boat to you!"
He had reason to be depressed. Andrew Keen, the commander of the USS Eisner, had arrived by helicopter on the USS Luna. Chen Cheng had assumed the USS Eisner wouldn't come, but shortly after Keen arrived, the USS Eisner arrived. And the USS Eisner's purpose in coming was to escort Xiao Peng's two ships!
Even though the USS Eisner is old, outdated, and outdated, it's still a sovereign nation's flagship! Ask the British to cause trouble? They wouldn't dare, even if they had ten times the courage! At least they wouldn't dare now that the Northern Ireland issue hasn't been resolved.
Now every move of Northern Ireland touches the nerves of the British. They are now more sensitive to the Northern Ireland issue than Lao Yang's review editor.
The 'Luna' and 'Calypso' crossed the Irish Sea under the escort of warships. Their destination was the port of Dublin, the capital of Ireland.
However, Xiao Peng was not on the ship. He went to Belfast at the invitation of Andrew Keane: the capital of Northern Ireland, where the United Kingdom and Ireland signed the Belfast Agreement.
One interesting thing is that the Irish side also knew in advance that Xiao Peng would pass through the Irish Sea, so the warship "Eisner" was anchored in Belfast.
The fact that Irish warships are docked in the port of Northern Ireland further illustrates how troublesome the Northern Ireland issue is now.
"Mr. Xiao, please!"
Under the guidance of Andrew Keane, Xiao Peng came to the Harland and Wolff Shipyard Museum near Belfast Port. Since the bankruptcy of Harland and Wolff Shipyard, it has become a tourist attraction.
There is a restaurant here called "Titanic", which is also Xiao Peng's destination this time.
There is an area in Belfast called the 'Titanic Quarter'. This is because the 'Titanic' was actually built in Belfast, and it was at the Harland and Wolff shipyard.
Belfast was once the world's leading shipbuilding center, and Harland & Wolff Shipyard was the world's largest shipyard. At its peak, more than 35,000 employees worked here, creating huge economic benefits for more than 150 years. Throughout World War I and World War II, a large number of warships were produced here. During World War II alone, more than 130 warships, several aircraft carriers and cruisers were built and launched here.
The output is absolutely amazing!
Moreover, not only ships are produced here, but also military equipment such as Stirling bombers and Churchill tanks are mainly produced in Belfast.
But they paid a price. On April 15, 1941, the German blitzkrieg launched, razing Belfast to the ground in a single night. Over 50,000 buildings were destroyed, with the Harland & Wolff shipyard being the primary target.
However, this did not destroy the Harland & Wolff shipyard. The British quickly spent a lot of money to rebuild it and put it into production again. They were one of the reasons why the UK was unwilling to allow Northern Ireland to become independent.
What really bankrupted Harland & Wolff was peacetime.
Despite possessing Europe's largest dry dock, Harland & Wolff Shipyards has been severely impacted by the UK's peacetime shipbuilding industry, facing competition from cheaper, more efficient competitors. Harland & Wolff has lost its leading position. It's already difficult for the company to compete with its domestic competitors, so how can it compete with the rest of the world? Initially, they were able to secure some sort of official order from the UK, but since launching their last roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessel, commissioned by the UK Ministry of Defence in 2003, they haven't received any orders.
They had thought about new ways out: they had worked in a shipyard and in wind turbine construction, but they could not support themselves with such a large family and business, so this shipyard, once the largest in the world, went bankrupt in 2019.
However, the Belfast government did not give up on this place. Instead, it effectively utilized it to develop tourism, established museums, waterfront restaurants, and opened a cruise terminal for tourists who want to visit the birthplace of the Titanic and relive the Titanic's sailing route.
The Titanic restaurant Xiao Peng and his friends were visiting was a three-story British Queen Anne-style building. Because it shares a common red brick exterior with Victorian-style buildings, it's also known as the Victorian Queen Anne style. This style of architecture is characterized by its characteristic prismatic corner towers.
The room where Xiao Peng and his friends ate was on the multi-sided corner tower. Originally, there should have been a large clock that could be seen from all four sides. Now the clock has been removed and turned into a restaurant with glass on all four sides. The scenery was excellent, with views of the sea on both sides and the mountains on both sides.
There was a man and a woman in the room, neither of them young, the man looking almost eighty, and about sixty feet tall. Although Andrew Keane had warned Xiao Peng before coming, he was still startled to see the two together.
It's no wonder that he was so surprised. One of the two people was the President of Ireland, Michael Higgins, and the other was the Chief Minister of the Northern Ireland local government, Alena Foster. Although Michael Higgins was more like a 'mascot' in Ireland - Ireland's political system was similar to that of Germany, with the president being the mascot and the prime minister being the leader - Alena Foster was the undisputed highest leader in the region!
The two top leaders of Ireland and Northern Ireland were waiting for him here, definitely not to wish him a happy new year...
"Mr. Xiao, I'm sorry to invite you here in this way," Alanna Foster said with a smile, "Let me introduce myself. I'm Alanna Foster, and this is Michael Higgins. We are..."
Xiao Peng interrupted them with a bitter expression, "Of course I know you. I'm going to be passing through Ireland and I definitely need to make some preparations. I'm honored that you invited me here, but... I want to make it clear first: I'm not interested in politics. If you two are getting together for something like Northern Ireland independence, please don't tell me. I'm just an ordinary person. I really can't get involved in such a big thing."
Alena and Michael looked at each other and laughed together: "Mr. Xiao, you think too much. We are looking for you for something else."
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