On December 2, 1899, a large number of ships gathered in Kiel Bay, Germany, large and small, neatly lined up in two columns, waiting quietly. At the head of the queue, on the snow-white royal yacht Hohenzollern, Frederick III and Jochen stand on a specially set up viewing platform above the bridge, overlooking the front.

The cold wind in Kiel Bay is howling in December, but the sealed observation deck is warm as spring, and the pipes under the wooden floor beneath the feet are hot water at 50 degrees, which constantly brings enough heat to the place.

As a royal yacht, it may not have to be extremely luxurious, but it must be very comfortable, so Jochen on the Hohenzollern racked his brains and came up with various ideas to make the ship as suitable as possible for his own needs, anyway, at his own expense, and the underfloor heating was Jochen's idea, so that there was no need to set up any fireplaces in the ship.

Father and son stood here, looking through the window at the straight waterway ahead, and directly in front of them a huge lock was slowly opening, and the Hohenzollern would have the honor of being the first user of the lock.

When the Hohenzollern sailed out of the locks, sailed on this channel, and looked at the artificially carved river, Frederick III was so excited that he waited 12 years for the Kiel Canal to finally open.

In order to be able to open the canal in time for 1900, the final finishing touches on the Kiel Canal were a race against time, and the Imperial government paid a large sum of money to allow the workers to continue working in the freezing winter. Finally, in the last month of 1899, all the work was completely completed.

The opening of this canal, which took 12 years and involved a lot of manpower, material resources and huge funds in the entire German Empire, marked the shortening of the route between the German Atlantic and the Baltic Sea by more than 500 nautical miles, which was of unparalleled value to the commercial and military affairs of the entire Reich.

And the huge project that he led when he was still the crown prince has finally been completed after a long wait. Frederick III, who was able to see this scene with his own eyes, was very emotional: "It's magnificent, isn't it? Frederick III whispered.

"Yes, Father. It's beautiful, it's your merit. It is the well-being that you leave to the whole Reich, for which all Germans will be grateful, this is your canal, the Frederick Canal. Jochen complimented.

Hearing his son pat his own ass, Frederick III was very useful, looking at his heroic son, Frederick III reached out and patted his son on the shoulder, and then shook his head with a smile: "This is not my merit alone. It is the merit of all Germans. 12 years, what a long time, you were a hairy boy back then, but now you are also a father of 2 children. ”

Then he sighed again: "It's a pity that Leo couldn't see the opening of the canal he personally presided over, he deserves to be praised by everyone, this is the honor he deserves." ”

"Father, Your Excellency the Prime Minister will see this qiē in heaven and return to the arms of the Lord, and we should not be sad about it. Father. Look at the ships that are following us?

There are the world's largest crude oil carriers, mineral sands carriers, and the world's only ro-ro wheels and container carriers, which are the hallmarks of Germany's rapid development. Although the total tonnage of the Empire's merchant ships is now only 31% of that of the British Empire, the world understands that we are leading the revolution in shipping technology.

While our maritime transportation capacity is developing rapidly, the requirements for the navigability of the canal are also getting higher and higher, and the current canal can meet our needs for nearly 100 years in the future, so the 12-year wait is worth it. ”

"You kid, those tankers are the ships of your Royal Oil Company, and the users of the ro-ro wheels are all BMW, right? I'm starting to wonder if you asked for the canal to be expanded in the first place to satisfy your own self-interest. Frederick III, who was in a good mood, made a joke about his son.

Seeing that his father was happy, Yoheng also deliberately cooperated: "Father, it's not right for you to say that. Container ships are leading the world in a new way of freight, and railway transportation and container carriers can solve the problem of bulk cargo loading and unloading difficulties in Germany. This has nothing to do with me.

Ore carriers are the demand of those smelting industry giants in China, and they also have no share in me. And then about the newly started battleships of the Navy. If it were according to the original canal standards, it would never have been able to pass. I'm thinking about the overall situation, how can I say it's for my own selfish interests? ”

"Stinky boy, it's time to learn to talk back, you are also a big capitalist now, and your overall situation is the overall situation of you big capitalists." Frederick III criticized with a smile on his face.

"Father, what do you say is not right, the royal industry is also developing well, the assets of the Hohenzollern family are also increasing, father, you are also a member of our big capitalists, and the better our enterprise develops, the better our empire develops." Jochen laughed and joked that his father still had about 2 billion marks of private assets.

Frederick III burst out laughing when he heard this, and it is no wonder that he was so happy, because all the major capital projects in Germany in recent years have been carried out under his own leadership. In the midst of the economic crisis, various infrastructure projects were put into use to expand domestic demand, and the returns began to be felt.

On the one hand, the speed of urbanization in Germany has accelerated, even after the annexation of Austria has lowered the average score, it still exceeds the historical standard of 54% to 56%, and better urban environment, better urban planning and higher wages have attracted a large number of people to the cities, and the large increase in urban population has made Germany's industrial production capacity soar.

This also allowed Germany's GDP in 1899 to break through the 40 billion mark in one fell swoop, reaching 41.9 billion marks, equivalent to 2.095 billion pounds, making Germany's GDP surpass the United Kingdom to become the largest economy in Europe.

Although the per capita GDP of the British, whose population is 1.9 times that of the British, barely exceeds 50% of the British, such a rapid development is enough to make Frederick III proud.

In addition, the unsatisfactory internal transportation environment in Austria, especially the poor level of railway transportation, began to become an obstacle to the rapid development of German trade throughout Germany, especially when German goods began to travel in large quantities to the Mediterranean. The construction of Austria's internal transport capacity to the level of developed regions in Germany is also slowly underway.

Of course, the mountainous terrain of Austria was a source of anxiety for the Germans, but the construction of the railway was still progressing steadily, but at a slower pace. Therefore, once Austria's transportation network can be completely integrated into the imperial system, it will surely bring about a period of rapid economic development.

The adjustment of various rural infrastructure, the adjustment of the agricultural industrial structure and the large-scale application of agricultural machinery have also increased the output of agricultural products in Germany, but because of the lack of arable land in Austria, Germany's agricultural self-sufficiency rate can only barely maintain about 70%.

However, fortunately, at this time, the relationship between Germany and Hungary was unprecedentedly close, and Hungary, which was completely dependent on Germany for industrial products, exported a large number of its agricultural products to Germany, and the German Crown Princess, as the queen of Hungary, naturally made Hungary's policies inevitably influenced by Germany.

Therefore, although Hungary gained independence and diplomatically gained independent power far beyond that of Austria-Hungary, it was infinitely closer to Germany economically, and such a closer relationship was undoubtedly extremely beneficial to Germany.

On the food issue, as long as Hungary's present close relations can be maintained, Germany should not be too worried.

Therefore, the whole of Germany is full of confidence in a better future, and this confidence will further promote the rapid development of society, and it has become the direction of the whole Germany to make per capita GDP catch up with and surpass the United Kingdom in ten years.

As the emperor, Frederick III also has a very high reputation and prestige, and now the opening of the Kiel Canal has added a strong stroke to his credit book, so Frederick III is naturally in a good mood.

The opening of the Kiel Canal is also a matter of concern for Jochen, after all, for 12 years, there is only input and no output, and the investment estimated by Caprivi at that time of 200 million marks has long exceeded the standard, and a total of nearly 300 million marks of funds have been invested in this huge project, which is indeed a big burden for the German government with an annual fiscal revenue of only 3 billion marks.

Now that the canal has been opened, the German government has suddenly thrown off a big burden, and has more funds to do other things, such as supporting the "Naval Act" that has just been passed, or supporting German military operations in the Philippines.

The canal, which is less than 100 kilometres long, soon came to an end, saving a full two days of travel for ships crossing the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. The Emperor's yacht crossed the canal to the mouth of the Elbe, marking the official opening of the canal.

The opening of the Kiel Canal is not only a major event for Germany, as an important waterway connecting the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, the opening of the canal marks the emergence of a convenient trade route, so it is also a major event for all countries on the North Sea-Baltic trade route, so many countries such as Britain, France, Russia, the Netherlands, Norway and other countries have come to congratulate.

The German government simply invited countries to participate in the celebration on the occasion of the opening of the canal, and visiting warships gathered in Wilhelmshaven for a parade. (To be continued) R580