With the assistance of German sailors, the gangway pushed down by the ship was firmly erected on the pier, and with the accompaniment of "God Save the Queen" played by the German Navy military band, the visiting British naval high-ranking officers appeared on the side of the ship.

"Your long-cherished enemy has come." Jochen smiled as he watched the British officer walk down the gangway and whispered to Tirpitz.

"An old guy who has stepped down has appeared here, and it seems that the British want him to assess our strength." Tirpitz also lowered his voice, keeping his eyes fixed on the second man who had walked down the gangway.

John Fisher, the leader of the British naval revolution, even though this guy has inhonorably retired from the position of First Sea Lord, but no one can ignore this man's influence on the Royal Navy. And at this time of day, the arrival of a former First Sea Minister is obviously not as simple as letting retired veteran cadres come and relax. What's more, the leader of the team is still the one who brought him down and died fat.

Turning his gaze back to the Briton who took the lead, Jochen teased a little: "The hero who brought Fisher down in the first place is here, don't you go to thank others?" It is no secret that Fisher was involved in the first place by Churchill, and Jochen naturally made a joke about it.

"If I had thanked the Lord Admiralty in person, would Fisher's temper come up and give me a punch?" Tirpitz also laughed: "Although I don't mind having a contest with him, if I make a mess of the welcome ceremony, it will be a loss of face for the whole of Germany." ”

The British Royal Navy officers all walked down the gangway, Admiral Winston Churchill, former First Sea Lord, Field Marshal John Fisher, and Commander of the First Battleship Detachment, Vice Admiral Martin Jeram. The lineup of British visitors is really luxurious. Tirpitz also put away his previous teasing face, and Jochen also waited for the British Royal Navy to come and salute.

After Churchill took off his hat and stroked his chest in salute according to the etiquette of European nobles meeting the royal family, Jochen bowed his head slightly with a smirk: "Welcome, Your Excellency Churchill." Winston Churchill, who was still young at this time, did not have the meaty rogue appearance of World War II, but Jochen still didn't like it. But now he had to put on a gesture of enthusiasm and shake hands with Churchill. Pose your best and let the journalists from all over the world on the dock leave valuable images.

After the ceremonial ceremony between His Majesty the German Emperor and the British Admiralty was over, both sides began to introduce their entourage, Fischer and Tirpitz, the two naval marshals, the two naval revolutionaries, the two founders of a mighty navy, and the two fateful rivals, and at this moment stood face to face. After a solemn military salute, two big hands were clasped together. Reporters fiddled with their cameras, and the spotlight burst into a strong flash, freezing the moment in the black and white photo.

At this moment, no one knew that this was the last time that the fleets of the two naval powers collided together on the ocean and staged a contest of blood and fire.

The British came under the banner of a friendly visit, so it was only natural that the German side should make the British feel at home. Therefore, welcome parties, banquets, social gatherings, dance parties, sports, and a variety of exchange activities are overwhelming. Both sides also tacitly did not deliberately inquire about each other's intelligence, but this does not mean that both sides are not actively collecting and analyzing each other's situation.

The mental outlook of the officers and soldiers of the opposing side. The professionalism reflected in daily communication and the maintenance status of warships are used as information to analyze the combat effectiveness of the other side. Even the attitude and tone of communication with one's own side have become details of how the other side evaluates our strength, and the opportunity to observe the opponent up close, such as mutual warship visits between the two sides, cannot be missed.

However, Jochen didn't have much interest in this, it was too much of a mistake to do this kind of thing as His Majesty the Emperor, and he had a deep understanding of the performance of the ships of the British Navy, so naturally there was no need to get involved in this kind of thing, and he could just listen to the report of the professionals when the time came.

So Jochen completely had the mentality of boarding the British super-dreadnought to open his eyes, and boarded the British warship early to visit. In addition to boarding a British warship in his own capacity. Churchill, a dead fat man who he didn't like to see, had been by his side, which made Jochen very unhappy, but the process of visiting still made Jochen very happy. After all, the style of British warships is completely different from that of the Germans, and the feeling of standing on these giant ships of other countries is completely different from looking at photos, playing with models, and carrying data.

Once satisfied, Yochen became the shopkeeper. And the official exchange of naval ships was completely lost to Tirpitz. And today, accompanied by Tirpitz, Fisher boarded the most important object of the trip, the West Prussia, the most powerful warship of the Imperial German Navy.

Standing on the wide foredeck, looking at the West Prussia's massive 380mm guns, Fisher was a little uneasy. At that time, he was bent on establishing absolute superiority over the German Navy, but after so many years, the Royal Navy seemed to be getting farther and farther away from its original goal.

"It is really worthy of being the most powerful battleship in the world, and standing on this battleship, I deeply feel that the strength of the German Navy has been qualitatively improved." Walking on the wide foredeck of the West Prussia, Fisher said lightly: "Your Excellency Alfred has been working hard to improve the strength of the German Navy, and he must be very pleased now, right?" ”

It sounds like a compliment, but Tirpitz tastes a little sarcasm in it. After nearly a week of exchanges, they did not praise the quality of the officers and men of the German Navy, but only praised a few warships, as if the German Navy would not be able to do without the strength of these four West Prussian-class battleships.

However, Tirpitz had to admit that the spirit of the officers and men of the British Royal Navy who was the best in the world was indeed something that the current German Navy could not do, and that sense of pride engraved into the bones was the spirit that the Royal Navy had accumulated as a maritime hegemon for hundreds of years, and it was not something that the German Navy could have after having a few powerful warships.

It was not a whimsical idea that the British sent a fleet led by 4 King George V-class battleships to warn Germany against rash action, and did the British not know that their 13.5-inch naval guns had no advantage over the Germans' 380-mm tubes? However, the British had absolute confidence in the quality of their own naval officers and men, so they had always despised the abilities of the German naval officers and men, and this perception made them naturally superior to others psychologically.

This superiority directly affected the attitude of the German naval officers and men in the face of the British, although the excellent quality and the mentality of secretly competing made the German officers and men not dwarf, but the mentality of shrinking back from the prestige of the sea supremacy was lurking in the bottom of their hearts. If it weren't for the fact that there were 4 West Prussian-class ships pressing here, I'm afraid this mentality would not just be pressed in the bottom of my heart.

Although voluntarism is not advisable, sometimes the strength of the spirit often overrides the performance of the equipment. The navy of the Third Reich in history was a typical example of being frightened by Britain. In Norway, two Scharnhorst-class battlecruisers were chased by a prestige, and when they returned, they lied that they had met Nelson. Can your Nelson run 29 knots? And when Scharnhorst really met Nelson, the 32,000-ton battle cruiser actually sent a report to the British that it was the 6,000-ton British light cruiser Emerald, and then ran away again. Nelson can't catch up with you, what about your bearing as a capital ship of the Navy?

Even Bismarck, who beat Hood in one shot, just found out that his opponent was the pride of the British Royal Navy, and Lütjans's first reaction was - he couldn't be cowardly, and he left quickly. If it weren't for Captain Lindemann saying that his ship was the soul pillar of the German Navy, and he couldn't just run away without a fight, then there would be no deeds to brag about.

I want to change that. The victories that the German Navy needed, successive victories, only victories could cultivate such a mental outlook, but now there was nothing Tirpitz could do about it. The British wanted to demonstrate, and although they did not do their best because of the existence of the West Prussian class, it cannot be said that they did not work at all.

"Germany longs for peace, and the Kaiser and I sincerely hope that the cannons on these warships do not need them to roar except for targeting." Tirpitz responded: "These ships are capable of forming the strongest shield to guard the peace of Germany." That's my biggest wish. If the West Prussian class could take on this task, then I would be very happy indeed. ”

Tirpitz's response was also a pistol with a stick. The German Navy does not want war, but the German Navy is not afraid of war, and if there is a kind of you to try the 380-mm naval guns, sharp.

"The navy has always been a sword, not a shield, and they hold the sharpest swords in the world, but let them be shields. Is it too wasteful? Fisher argued: "And the 8 battleships that your country is still building should be an improved version of the West Prussia class, and the 12 battleships equipped with 15-inch guns have nothing to do with the shield you mentioned, no matter how you look at it." "Germany had no ambition for British sea power, and Fisher never believed in the official propaganda that Germany longed for peace. It's as ridiculous as a tiger claiming that he's as harmless as a cat.

"When the navy attacks, it is the sword, and when it is defended, it is the shield. The German Navy has always pursued a defensive naval strategy. Nature is a shield to defend our country. Tirpitz also responded uncompromisingly: "As for treating the navy as a sword, it also shows the offensive strategic thinking of your navy, which is the most fundamental difference between our two countries in maritime strategy." ”

This is obviously saying that the German Navy is harmless to humans and animals, and the Royal Navy is everywhere as a-stirring stick, and all the pots are your British. How can this pot be carried? Fisher was about to retort, but the signal corps was interrupting him.

"Your Excellency Marshal, Berlin Emergency!" The sweaty signal corpsman panted in front of Tirpitz.

Tirpitz, who felt that this panicked appearance had lost his demeanor in front of the British, asked dissatisfiedly: "What are you panicking about?" Could it be that the French are coming, and even if they do, they are still here in the British fleet, what are you afraid of? Tirpitz did not miss this opportunity to ridicule the British.

The signal corpsman glanced at Fisher, who was dressed in the uniform of a British field marshal, and then handed a telegram to Tirpitz: "Your Excellency, there is a large-scale riot in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Croatian-Slovenian Kingdom!" (To be continued.) )

PS: I wish you all a happy new year, a new year, and a good year of the monkey, but unfortunately, I originally wanted to send it out at 0 o'clock