"His Excellency President Taft and His Majesty King George, on behalf of the Government, sent telegrams expressing their heartfelt thanks to our Navy and to the North German Lloyds Corporation for their humanitarian operations. In addition, there were a large number of thank-you telegrams from both the United States and Britain in their private capacities. ”

"I see, how to reply to the telegram and let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs draft it on its own." Yoheng nodded: "In addition, the publicity of this matter should also be well controlled, which will be of great help to the improvement of my country's image and influence." ”

On the night of April 14, 1912, the Titanic hit an iceberg as scheduled, and at this time, the German new large cruiser Moltke and the oil and water supply ship Wilhelmshaven, which were undergoing ocean-going training, were sailing in the nearby waters. After receiving the call for help at 0:15 on the 15th, both German ships rushed to the scene as fast as possible. The Moltke arrived at the scene at 2:40 a.m. on April 15 at a high speed of 27 knots, by which time the Titanic had completely sunk.

Arriving at the scene, the Moltke lowered the ship's dinghy to search and rescue, and the high-intensity searchlights on the ship, which were originally used for night lighting, played a huge role. At 3:20, the Williamshaven arrived at the scene, and at 3:30, the British passenger liner Carnard joined the search and rescue. A total of 872 people were rescued from the joint rescue operation of the three ships. The timely arrival of the Moltke, the first to arrive, scooped up 167 people who were soaked in the water. The German sailors gave up their clothes and blankets, as well as the hot food provided by the ship's galleys, to save them from dying from hypothermia. Subsequently, after reporting to China by telegram, the two German ships changed their sailing plans and headed for New York.

This move of the German Navy was praised by all sides, and the arrival of the German fleet in New York was also welcomed by all walks of life in the United States. Therefore, as soon as Jochen sent a message of condolence to Britain and the United States in the name of the emperor, a message of thanks from US President Taft and King George V of the United Kingdom was sent.

The Moltke and Wilhelmshaven certainly didn't happen to be there. Having just completed six months of training in the Baltic Sea, the course of the Moltke's first training voyage was entirely set by Jochen himself. Although the navy was a little puzzled by His Majesty the Emperor's careful planning of a long-distance training plan, His Majesty the Emperor had often given guidance to the navy's training plan in the past. The long-distance training of the Scharnhorst-class heavy cruisers and the supply ship Keele had also been carefully questioned by His Majesty the Emperor, so they did not attract much attention. However, because Jochen could not remember the specific latitude and longitude of the sinking of the Titanic, he could only roughly calculate according to the route and speed of the Titanic, which eventually led to a distance of 65 nautical miles from the Titanic at the time of the formation.

Of course, it was not Jochen's concern how many people the navy could save, and the real purpose was to raise the image of the whole of Germany through this operation. At the same time, we can also strive for a better external environment. The British fight with us every day, and now that we've saved your people, you're going to give me some peace.

However, compared to the UK, Jochen values feedback from the US more. Compared with the telegram of thanks sent by the President of the United States, what made Jochen even happier was the private telegram, many of whom were rescued by people with considerable influence in the United States, and their rescue would be exchanged for goodwill from all walks of life in the United States. Presidents will change in a few years, and the goodwill of the American people will last for a long time.

Moreover, the German Navy's action this time also refuted the British people's long-standing argument that the German Navy was designed to threaten Britain's maritime security, and the positive image also increased the support for the Navy from all walks of life in Germany.

Of course, such a great opportunity should be taken advantage of. However, after giving his opinion, Jochen did not signal the person who reported to leave, but suddenly said: "Prime Minister Machar submitted his resignation to me yesterday. ”

Obviously, this news took everyone in the room by surprise, and Tirpitz frowned and asked, "Your Majesty, is Adolf's condition so bad?" ”

"I'm afraid so." Yoheng sighed and said worriedly, "I thought it was just a minor illness, and it would be good to recuperate for a while. But now Machar can't get out of bed, and he handed me his resignation when I went to visit him yesterday. ”

Tirpitz frowned, and the Emperor's tone sounded unoptimistic. Machar is 69 years old. At this age, the possibility of a serious illness and recovery is not high.

The reality was worse than Tirpitz had thought, and Machar's body weakened to the naked eye. I'm afraid time is running out, but it doesn't make sense to say it now except to add to the sadness, so Joechen doesn't go into too much detail.

"Then we now have to think about Mashal's successor." Personal friendship aside, to maintain the stability of the empire's political situation, the continuation of policy is the most important thing. Goltz, who had already been promoted to marshal at the beginning of the year along with Tirpitz, said.

"Does Machar have any opinion about the successor?" Tirpitz asked, but out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Teobade, who was still standing on the side? Feng? Bateman? Holwig. It was a bit inappropriate to have the state secretary present to discuss such a sensitive issue as the next Prime Minister of the Empire, but His Majesty the Emperor did not signal for him to leave, apparently indicating that His Majesty intended to involve him in such a major decision. Apparently, Goltz also thought of this, and after glancing at Tirpitz, they both thought of a possibility.

"Mashal recommended you to me. Holwig. Jochen's words confirmed Tirpitz and Goltz's thoughts: "Mashal thinks you have what it takes to keep his policies going. And during the time of Machar's recuperation, the government of the empire was still able to function as usual, and your ability is obvious to all, so I also think that you are the ideal successor of Machar. ”

The news made Holwig stunned, and a wave of blood rushed to the top of his head, and he couldn't even speak.

Jochen looked at Holwig's reaction and smiled and said, "Do you know why His Excellency Marcal and I have decided to let you take over as Chancellor of the German Empire?" ”

Holwig shook his head, Chancellor of the German Empire! I never imagined that I would be the prime minister of the continent's largest power now. It is a dream for any politician to become a powerful prime minister who can influence the entire world situation. But at the age of 44, his qualifications are far from enough.

Although according to the system of the German Empire, as long as His Majesty the Emperor appoints him, the Diet is basically a formality, and the possibility of opposition is extremely low, and it is almost certain that he will become the Prime Minister of the Reich, but the more this is the case, the more uneasy he becomes.

Not to mention the exploits of the iron-blooded Chancellor Bismarck in the establishment of the German Empire. Looking at the two chancellors after the establishment of the empire, His Excellency Caprivi was a senior general in the army, and later served as the head of the navy, laying a solid foundation for the rise of the Royal Navy of the German Empire. His Excellency Machar, on the other hand, served as Foreign Secretary and distinguished himself in the foreign affairs of the Empire. And although he is the state secretary of the empire, there are basically no twists and turns. The road to promotion is smooth sailing, but it is difficult to get enough results to convince the public.

"Don't be nervous, the reason why Your Excellency Machar and I chose you is simple. First of all, you are the Secretary of State, the person who is most familiar with the work of His Excellency Machar. Second, Your Excellency Machar is very recognizant of your abilities, and the fact that you have been able to keep the day-to-day work of the government running smoothly under His Excellency Machar's cultivation during this period is also a testament to the smooth transition that you can take over. Thirdly, our main job now is to maintain stability, and a person who can continue to implement the policies of the previous prime minister is more suitable for this position than someone who wants to implement the new policies. Jochen said.

Teobaden? Feng? Bateman? Holwig, Chancellor of the German Empire from 1909 to 1917. Historically, he has been judged by two factions, with his failure in power, his commitment to Austria-Hungary leading to the outbreak of World War I, and his sluggishness in reforming domestic policy that set the stage for the class conflict at the end of the war. On the other hand, he was an excellent statesman because of his accurate analysis of the international situation before and during the war, but the intervention and obstruction of various factors at home and abroad led to the failure of his own policies.

The analysis of Holwig's successes and failures is too complicated, but the consideration of appointing him as the Reich's Prime Minister Jochen is simple. First of all, Holwig is a conservative. He didn't like radical policies. Therefore, although his domestic policy in history has some positive reforms, it is because the reform is not strong. It didn't produce significant results.

This was not a merit in the first place, but it was a great one for Jochen's Germany. Jochen's economic and political reforms over the past ten years have been closing the loopholes in this imperial society little by little. The reform of agricultural production methods made the Junker aristocracy less and less constrained by the development of imperial capitalism, and the transformation of a large number of Junker nobles greatly increased the power of imperial capitalism, which not only greatly promoted the industrial development of the empire, but also made this group the most powerful political force in the empire.

The social security system that had been built was incommensurate with the era of "treating workers as lemons that they threw away after they had juiced them", and the power to give social democrats equal participation in politics and even control of parliament, succeeded in convincing them that the path of parliamentary power with the weapon of votes was more effective than armed uprising. However, the ideas of National Socialism that he had created by himself resisted the spread of ideas by the Social Democrats, fueled by the political forces of the bourgeoisie. And the political forces in the face of the bourgeoisie. The Social Democrats had little prospect of seizing state power through parliament.

In this situation of basic internal stability, what Germany needs is to maintain stability rather than reform, and maintaining the current momentum of rapid development is the first priority, so someone like Holwig is the best choice.

On the other hand, more than a decade of reign has made it inevitable that Jochen will be self-aggrandized. The thirst for power is growing day by day, although he can still rationally restrain the ** who gathers power, but it is very much in line with Jochen's mind to make Holwig, a person who has no ability to suppress the military and parliament, as prime minister, because as long as he wants, Holwig can only be his own mouthpiece. In this way, in the power game of the emperor, the prime minister, the parliament, the army, and the navy, Jochen alone will firmly hold 3 votes in his hands.

Of course, Jochen will not expose his little calculations to the eyes of others, and encouraged with a smile on his face: "Don't be pressured, you are lucky, now is a good time, at least the current international environment is much better than last year, seize this opportunity, this Titanic rescue operation and this year's Olympic Games in Berlin can strive for a huge positive impact for the empire, make good use of them, the pressure of the external environment in the first year after you take office will be much less." ”

Historically, the 1916 Berlin Olympics could not be held because Europe was already in a mess, and Jochen did not want to repeat this again, so he did his best to snatch this opportunity from the Swedes.

Not only can Germany show that I don't want to make trouble now, but you don't want to make trouble for me, I want to make every effort to ensure the success of the Olympics to alleviate the pressure of the external environment, and at the same time show Germany to the rest of the world, and clarify the scandalous remarks made by Britain and France against Germany, why not use this opportunity to boost economic growth?

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Holwig replied forcefully, knowing that these two things were the first political capital he could get. (To be continued.) )

PS: PS: To correct the mistake in the previous chapter, the unlucky guy on the Midway rolled 24 degrees in the thrilling accident in the Atlantic, not 41 degrees, and it really turned over directly at 41 degrees, so I correct it here.