In 1889, Jochen's maternal grandmother, Queen Victoria, celebrated her 70th birthday and 52nd anniversary on the throne, and just two years after commemorating her 50th anniversary in 1887, the Royal Navy held another naval parade. Frederick III made his first trip to England as Emperor of Germany to visit his mother-in-law. Historically, even in the last months of his life, Frederick III still hoped to be able to go to England the following year to celebrate his mother-in-law's birthday, and he was pleased that this wish had been fulfilled.

This trip to the UK is not only to celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday, but also to negotiate with the British government on Samoa and other colonial affairs. The Germans began colonizing Samoa after entering Samoa in 1856, but this move created a conflict of interest with Britain and the United States, and the treaty that was supposed to be signed in Berlin this year, due to the previous German goodwill signals to Britain over the Suez Canal, and Frederick III's own decision to go to England on his mother-in-law's birthday, satisfied the British sense of superiority. Therefore, the final meeting place was in London.

There are also various opinions within the empire on how to choose the ships to participate in the parade. After all, this time it was going to Britain for negotiations, and in order to add some weight to its own negotiations, the Navy built a new and powerful Elector First Class ironclad ship to show the German Navy's ability to maintain the colony. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that sending the latest and strongest warship to Britain is full of provocation, which is not conducive to friendly exchanges between the two countries, and it is better to send an Irene-class heavy cruiser as it did two years ago. I have to say that the idea of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still reliable.

You must know that in history, Wilhelm II led almost all the ironclad ships and modern cruisers of the Imperial Navy to England to participate in the ship parade, and the British crown prince Edward and William II successively boarded the flagships of the two countries to review each other's fleets. And this parade is also regarded as the pinnacle of British and German royal friendship. But what about the real situation? Perhaps Wilhelm II will have great pride when he sails the English Channel with his fleet, but it is unknown whether he will stand on the bow of the ship and learn the Titanic or shout "I am the king of the world" like James Cameron. Jochen guessed, however, that he must have been in a bad mood when he arrived in England, for the English did not welcome the grandson of their own queen in a welcoming manner. The British Royal Navy came up with a large fleet to give the Germans a disadvantage. The small, broken fleet of the Germans was ashamed of itself in front of the British Royal Navy. Speaking of which, Jochen felt a little relieved, although the tonnage of the current German Navy still fell to the fifth place in the world, but it was much better than the situation in history when it was 20,000 tons less than the Italians, and the German Navy was only more than 1,000 tons behind the Italian Navy at this time, and this was still in the case of disposing of 3 old ships. In addition, the newly built German warships are much more cutting-edge and powerful than those ships in history that are outdated in design and even have sail rigging, and the German fleet at this time is definitely more beautiful than Wilhelm II's fleet.

Ah, that's a long way off. In short, if the German navy wanted to run to the gate of the British to show off, it would only be self-inflicted. Therefore, Jochen is very much in favor of the views of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but Jochen's construction is even better than that of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"I don't think even the Erin class should be sent, just let the King William go."

"Your Highness, the King William is an old ship, so it's not appropriate to participate in the parade." The Admiralty were dumbfounded when they heard Jochen's construction. The King William was an old ship that was almost sold, and because it was not sold, the modification of the rapid-fire gun was not carried out, and it was still loaded with breech-loading black. Gunpowder ship guns. It is a shame for such a battleship to participate in the parade.

"Yes, Your Highness, if the King William goes to participate, will it seem that we do not pay attention." The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which believes that it should be more conservative, has some difficulty accepting this decision.

"Don't take it seriously? No, we take it seriously. Don't forget, the King Wilhelm is now the largest warship in the German Navy, and even the Elector is a few hundred tons smaller than him. Sending the largest warship of the Imperial Navy to participate in the parade shows our importance and sincerity. Jochen said with a smile.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's words made the Admiralty officials angry for a while, an old ship 20 years ago was the largest warship of the Imperial Navy, and the latest and strongest warship that the Imperial Navy had high hopes for was actually smaller than her, which was a shame to say. And the faces of the other high-ranking officials of the empire were not good-looking, and the smile of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince seemed to them to be simply sarcastic about themselves: Look, who told you to be so slamming on the military expenses of the navy, and now you are ashamed, right?

Jochen did not let them go, and continued: "And don't forget, the King William was built in a shipyard on the Thames in London. Doesn't the fact that such a ship, which represents the friendship between Britain and Germany, participate in the parade also represents our ardent expectations for the friendship between Britain and Germany? And we showed good intentions, and my father was the son-in-law of the British, so I guess the British would not have made too many difficulties for us on the colonial issue. ”

Well, the largest warship of the empire was not built by itself, and everyone here feels that they have been stabbed by the crown prince again. Looking at the smile on the crown prince's face, he felt that his face was hot.

Actually, Jochen is not so dark-bellied, and the reason he laughs is actually because he is amused by his bad idea. Germany's expansion of the navy will naturally make the British people at the doorstep pay attention, and the German emperor, the son-in-law of the Queen of England, came to participate in the parade, bringing an old ship built by Britain 20 years ago, and this old ship is still the largest warship of the German Navy, which is too cold. Compared with the mighty and powerful fleet of the British, such a strong contrast is poignant. Then let the British think that the German navy was too weak, and as the son-in-law of Her Majesty the Queen, what could they do if they built a few ships? It's completely harmless to the Royal Navy fleet. The later the British could set their sights on the Germans, the better it would be for Germany. Therefore, to be a low-key person, it is the king to make a fortune in a muffled voice, and the ancients did not deceive me.

However, seeing everyone's bitter faces, Jochen still explained kindly: "Everyone, our Imperial Navy's 1888 shipbuilding plan has begun, and the new capital ships and cruisers will start construction next year, and the ships in the 1887 Navy plan will be built and put into service in this year and next year, so there will be an explosion period in our country's naval strength, and we don't know how the British will react to this, I think my grandmother should not mind, However, the Marquis of Salisbury, who likes to make trouble everywhere, and the Royal Navy, which is already under great pressure against the French and Russian navies, will there be a murder paranoia if a fleet with considerable combat power appears on their doorstep. So we might as well show weakness to the British now. We want the British to know that the warships built by the British 20 years ago are still the largest warships of the German Navy, and the German Navy is now very weak, so the German Navy is not a threat, and the growth of strength is only a normal development of the replacement of the old and the new. And due to the limitations of German naval strength, there was little chance of a conflict with the British on overseas colonies. Therefore, we are willing to negotiate with Britain diplomatically to resolve the dispute and achieve a win-win situation for both sides. ”

Bismarck was still in favor of Jochen's view. He had always objected to Germany's possession of a powerful fleet, but with naval expansion a foregone conclusion, it was wise to keep it covered. Frederick III also thought that it was not good to have a misunderstanding with England, and he agreed. Since both the emperor and the prime minister have expressed their stance in this way, then it is decided. Because the ship was ready to be sold to the Japanese in order to look better, the King William was docked for maintenance, although it was not sold in the end, but now the appearance looks new and radiant. Hanging the colored flags again, coupled with the huge body, it is still very majestic and majestic:

On August 1, 1889, Frederick III, his wife Empress Victoria, his son Crown Prince Joachim, and his daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Mary, boarded the Royal Yacht Hohenzollern and sailed to England on the Ironclad King Wilhelm, the largest warship of the German Navy. Due to the drag of the King William, the fleet had to move towards England at a speed of 10 knots. To Jochen's mixed feelings, this small fleet of two ships was really shabby. Not only is the warship in question an old wreck, but even the royal yacht is a small wreck

The Hohenzollern Royal Yacht is a 1,700-ton boat built in 1876 and a paddle steamer with a top speed of 15.7 knots, although it is well maintained as a royal yacht with luxurious interiors. But the 1,700-ton paddle wheel, well, Jochen said was pretty shabby. Now Jochen can understand his boss Wilhelm II's decision to build a new royal yacht after he ascended the throne, and he must have been in the same mood as Jochen when he took this yacht to lead the German Navy in the English Channel: This kind of small wrecked ship is too bad for my German royal family!

This time, the Germans really carried out the guiding ideology of low-key life to the end. Jochen could have imagined what the British would have thought when the German fleet arrived in England: the Germans were poor like this? The royal yacht is actually a paddle wheel?! It should be said that he should be happy that his goal has been achieved, but Jochen says that he really can't laugh.

Be sure to build a new yacht when you go back! Joechen roared in his heart.