Hoofs were loud and shouting, and thousands of spectators were frantically cheering on the galloping knights at a racecourse in the suburbs of London. As an ancient competitive sport, horse racing has always been the focus of the British people's leisure time; With so many followers and a wide range of people, no other movement can compare with it. And those riders who won the championship in the competition will be surrounded by endless flowers and applause; In addition to receiving money and honor, there may also be favors and special care from celebrities and noblewomen.

Amid the shouts of the crowd, a rider in black gradually stood out from the group; Although his face was obscured by a face shield, his tall and slender body had already won the screams of from the women in the audience. He had an almost unimaginable understanding with the horses below him, and in the second half of the race, he gradually took a lead that the riders behind could not shake. A few minutes later, the black-clad rider crossed the finish line in the dusty and unsuspenseful first; In a moment, the white light shone brightly all around, and more than a dozen cameras set up here recorded this glorious moment.

"Mr. Henry, you are truly the king of the racetrack!" When the rider in black stopped his horse, a special reporter who appeared from the side did not hide his inner compliment at all, and said, "This is your third consecutive championship in the English S-League, do you have anything to say to everyone?" ”

The black knight, known as Henry, took off his mask, revealing a resolute and resolute face in his thirties, full of masculinity; His blue eyes were so bright that he seemed to be able to penetrate all the secrets of the person in front of him. Faced with a reporter's question, the black knight responded with an impeccable courtesy and a smile. A new round of bombardment began in the spotlight all around, and soon the photographs would be on the front pages of the newspapers.

Looking at the British people in the audience cheering warmly for themselves, an imperceptible sneer flashed in the depths of the black knight's eyes. After handing over the horses to the staff, he spoke generously with the people who had come to congratulate them. Today, the Black Knight has used the racecourse as a platform to meet many of the stalwarts of the British military and political field: these people come here for entertainment. It didn't take long to notice the winning rider who could bring him money from betting on horses, and the corresponding exchanges grew.

Despite the huge gap in identity and profession between the two sides, and the fact that the conversation between them was only superficial, the Black Knight still received a lot of crucial information through the words that those people inadvertently revealed.

While he was talking and laughing, a horse trainer suddenly ran towards the black knight who was surrounded by the crowd. In the face of everyone's gaze, the horse trainer just said to the black knight, "Mr. Henry, Darjeeling's mood is a little irritable again. Only you can appease it, so go and see how it goes. ”

The black knight was stunned for a moment, and then bowed slightly to the people around him apologetically. And these richly dressed viewers also responded with understanding and tolerant smiles. Some of the men who had invested heavily in the Black Knight had even asked him to take good care of his companion mounts. For the rider, the horses under his seat are definitely their second life; It's not uncommon to find a sturdy horse, but a car that can fit in well with the rider may not be able to train one after a few years of hard work!

Leaving the hustle and bustle of the spectators, the black knight walked alone to the stable camp at the back of the racecourse. Because of the large herd of animals that defecated in the field, even the riders rarely came and went, and there were only a few handymen laying hay and cleaning in the huge wooden shed.

The black knight looked around out of the corner of his eye. He walked slowly to his racehorse, named Darjeeling, and in a whisper, reached out and expertly stroked its bright and smooth mane. Inadvertently, his fingertips suddenly touched a wrapped note. The Black Knight's face remained unchanged. Fingers curled up, silently removing it from his mane and putting it in his jacket pocket.

In the dead of night, the black knight who got up from his couch finally found the note. Bake over a charcoal fire. The original white surface gradually appeared to be a green number. Facing the Oxford English dictionary at the head of the bed, the man in black gradually translated the full text of the information; Looking at the bright moonlight pouring in from the window, he has always been as strong as iron. It also sprouted strong sadness, memories, and longing.

"Dear Heydrich: I need you to provide detailed information on the topography and weather of Scapa Bay within two years. Your wife and children are living well in Germany, so you don't have to worry about them. Your most faithful Jonas. ”

However, after a few moments, the black knight suddenly woke up from his state of distraction; He immediately wiped out all traces with a match, and lay back on the bed. After a few long breaths, his mind finally calmed down again. Thinking of the difficult task given to him by the other party in the intelligence, Heydrich's gaze gradually turned solemn, and he muttered to himself: "It seems that I am the only one who will complete this mission myself." ”

A few days later, at a dinner party, Heydrich revealed another of his hobbies: diving. He decided to make that wish come true during the upcoming summer holidays in Scapa Fir, far north of Scotland, where the wreckage of the German High Seas Fleet, which sank here 18 years ago, can be seen. In fact, it was because of Operation Rainbow that Scapa Bay, which was originally an important military port of the Royal Navy, became a paradise for diving enthusiasts since the early 30s. In the warm summer every year, thousands of tourists come here; They savored the bleak scene of the German ship quietly sinking under the water, and showed the joy of being victorious in their laughter.

However, the Royal Navy, which opened Scapa Bay, was also prepared for counter-espionage reconnaissance. Visitors are required to undergo a thorough search when entering and exiting the bay checkpoint, and any items that can be measured or recorded are charged with spies and a thorough inventory is carried out. For several years, Scapa Bay's security has not been flawed; Those who had other intentions were arrested one after another, and in public trials and long prison sentences, they became a model of deterrence for those who came after them.

In view of this, Heydrich was not prepared to take risks and follow the mistakes of his predecessors. He decided to take the most direct and at the same time the most difficult method, which was to carve the appearance of the harbor purely from memory, and then paint it after he left. For Heydrich, this was definitely a serious challenge. Because although Fang Yan gave him a lot of time, Scapa Bay is only open to divers in the warm summer every year; And in order not to arouse the suspicion of his companions, the time for him to surface and observe his surroundings will be greatly shortened. However, this is the only way to know what is going on in port.

When summer arrived in June, Heydrich took his diving suit and embarked on the train north to Scotland. Although he never forgave the top of the Navy who had harshly expelled him from the wall, he was now the head of a British spy in the service of his country; Even if he knew that the task would almost certainly be beneficial to the Navy, it was his duty to accomplish it in accordance with the norms. In addition, he was entrusted with this task by his old friends in the army. For Fang Yan, who once helped him in times of trouble, Heydrich always had some gratitude in his heart; It was the help of the other party that he got out of the trough of collapse in the past.

In the summer of June 1937, it was not only Heydrich who entered the North Sea to experience the deep blue, but also the new German battleships that had just been launched. In the early morning of the 14th, more than 100,000 people gathered in the Brom-Fox shipyard, and they all stood around the slipway, looking eagerly at the steel hull that was about to be launched in the center. What made the frenzied atmosphere at the scene even more culminated was that the German Führer and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Adolf ? Hitler even came to the main stage. At this time, Hitler no longer needed to capture the masses with his outstanding oratorical skills as he did five years ago; He just stood on the main podium, and the whole people, including Walker, had already erupted in extremely enthusiastic deafening cheers!

The morning breeze is blowing, the sun is dazzling, and countless red, white and black three-color flags are hunting and hunting in the sky. The senior admirals standing behind Hitler were equally smiling, and they looked at the giant ship in front of them like an old idiot who had been single for forty years, and saw a perfect goddess lying on his bed. To a considerable extent, these generals were in a state of ecstasy: the German Navy had not had a real battleship for 18 years, and the performance of the battleship in front of them had reached such a dizzying height!

However, compared to the excitement and ecstasy of these generals, Fang Yan's face was a little annoyed and gloomy. As the object of Raeder's careful cultivation, he already knew the specific indicators of this class of battleships named "Bismarck" two days before he was launched. He never imagined that the Navy Headquarters would use the essence of its own design to create such a behemoth with a standard displacement of up to 45,600 tons, and it was built as soon as it was 4 ships!

Although the unit cost of these battleships was diluted due to the mass construction of these battleships, the average price per ship still reached 180 million marks. As a result, the German Navy spent twice as much on battleships as it had originally planned for three medium-sized battleships; And this extra money is enough to buy 2 more Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers with full combat power! (To be continued.) )