For geniuses in a particular field, some people despise and some people seek after. The Swedish prince Gustav, who came with his country's visiting ship www.biquge.info appeared in front of Natsuki with an enthusiastic smile: "Ho... Ho... Your Royal Highness the Brilliant Prince, Your Royal Highness the Stunning Princess, every time I see you standing together, I can't help but praise the omnipotent Creator. Of course, there is also a little jealousy - why am I so ordinary in my humble state? ”

Natsuki has known the 19-year-old Swedish prince for five years, who looks a little like Ibrahimovic, and although Gustav is also an admirer of Princess Louise, his friendship with Prince Joachim was sparked by racing boats. Don't look at Gustav's steady demeanor, decent words and deeds, but in his bones he is a cynical "noble second generation". He is passionate about speed-related racing and has invested in horse racing, motor racing and even rowing. Five years ago, he bought the Joachim-designed speedboat Exocet for 150,000 marks, winning the Seine Race trophy that year, although the top prize in the event was only 50,000 francs (about four). 10,000 marks), the Swedish prince's enthusiasm for rowing has never been out of control. Over the years, he and his team have competed in dozens of prestigious or up-and-coming races, even if the prize money won is far less than worth the cost.

Due to the rapid development of internal combustion engine technology and the constant updating of racing boat design, Gustav became a regular customer of the Royal German Shipyard. For this generous financier, Natsuki's attitude has always been that he does not refuse to come, as long as it does not affect the strategic layout, he is willing to transfer the latest and best speedboats at a high price. Just over two months ago, Gustav won the 8th King's Cup Water Race in London with the purchase of a new racing Thunderbolt speedboat, snatching the trophy from the self-righteous British, while Natsuki's Royal Shipyard sold a speedboat costing less than 60,000 DM for 190,000 marks, also a contented winner.

"How does it feel to win the Gold Cup at the mouth of the Thames?"

When Natsuki asked this question, Gustav leaned down and kissed the back of Princess Louise's hand, to which he replied with a pun, "Hmm...... Incomparably wonderful! ”

The little princess's cheeks were slightly red, and it could be seen that she still had a good impression of the handsome and personable Swedish prince.

The "noble second generation" who spends a lot of money gives the impression of a loser, but Natsuki has no ill feelings towards Gustav. It is much better to focus on sports competitions than to be lustful and unscrupulous, not to mention that Gustav has been contemplating the use of speedboat technology to strengthen the Swedish coastal defense, and he can be regarded as a young man with pursuit and quality.

As soon as he offered a few words of praise to Princess Louise, Gustav suddenly changed the subject: "Oh, by the way, Your Royal Highness, I have seen those combat speedboats escorting the parade ship today, they are the torpedo attack models of the 'Thunderbolt'!" Can a single pilot, with only one torpedo, guarantee enough combat effectiveness? ”

Xia Shu raised his right eyebrow lightly: "In order to prove this, we have arranged the corresponding link in this year's joint drill, and Your Highness will see the answer soon." ”

"Oh ho!" Gustav grinned, "The high-speed performance of this speedboat is perfect, and since the German Navy has been installed, the combat performance should be very good." Before I came, I made a proposal to my father, and he was willing to try new things, but the old antiques of the Admiralty were still skeptical. This time our chief of staff of the Navy also came with the ship, just in time to open his eyes and shovel a shovel of rusty old ideas! ”

"That's inevitable!" Natsuki responded with a confident smile.

While the two were chatting, the trumpeter outside the hall blew the sound of a subdued trumpet, and the lively hall suddenly fell silent, and the band immediately changed the tune to play the "March of the German Empire". Riding on the majestic melody, Kaiser Wilhelm II held Augusta. Empress Victoria walked into the hall and people greeted the most distinguished couple of the Second German Empire with gender and identity courtesy. As usual, Wilhelm II opted for a gorgeous military outfit - a white hard collar, a gold-rimmed ribbon, and a silver medallion, and the bright color combination made it easy to become the center of attention. Of course, the German emperor was most impressed by his distinctive beard. Many German aristocrats were keen to trim their beards upturned at both ends, but Wilhelm II's beard was particularly special, with the end of the beard raised high to the cheekbones of his face, which appropriately set off his arrogant, stubborn, and flamboyant personality.

William II's mother and wife were both known as Empress Victoria, and although the titles were similar, there were clear differences in the origins and styles of the two queens. The elder Queen Victoria is the eldest princess of Queen Victoria of England, with charming charm and outstanding talent, but her British background and pro-British views were resisted by Bismarck and other powerful ministers, and the harsh discipline of her eldest son William (also known as William II) led to long-term tensions between mother and son; The daughter of the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, the younger Empress Victoria was of pure Germanic ancestry, a master of artistic studies, and her arrogant and conceited personality was quite similar to that of Wilhelm II, so she failed to mediate the bad relationship between her husband and her mother-in-law until the death of the elder Empress Victoria from spinal cancer in 1901, and the internal disputes of the first German family finally came to an end.

A dazzling tiara, a long white dress, a large pearl necklace, a luxurious jeweled corsage, plus a rich appearance and dignified temperament, in terms of external performance, Augusta. Victoria and her husband are a perfect match. They were followed by the heir to the Second German Reich and the Kingdom of Prussia, the 22-year-old Crown Prince Wilhelm. With Germany's second-largest industrial scale in the world and the strength of its army, the unmarried Crown Prince Wilhelm can be called the best "diamond king" of this era, he is tall, with a slender face, eyebrows, eyes and nose that resemble Wilhelm II, and large ears and a pointed chin inherited from his mother's genes.

Standing in the crowd, Natsuki calmly looked at the focus trio. Under the succession system of European monarchies, no matter how brilliant they may be, and how much great their past and future achievements may have made for this empire, it will be difficult for them to rise to the top of imperial power beyond the five brothers, unless they all marry the daughters of the people and renounce the right to the throne, or are diagnosed with some disease that is unable to manage the affairs of the state, or make an unforgivable mistake, so that the youngest-minded German ministers can support the youngest Joachim to the throne.

The chances of this happening are slim to none!

Knowing that he didn't have the strength to single out the five royal brothers, Xia Shu has always been unambitious on issues related to imperial power. He was deeply loved by the Emperor and Empress but never pampered, he was keen on naval affairs rather than stepping into sensitive political spheres, and more often than not, he gave the impression of being devoted to the study of ship mechanics, or discussing technical issues with the engineers of the German Admiralty and the major shipyards, or enjoying his own little world at the Royal Shipyard entrusted to him by the Kaiser. Because of this, he maintained a harmonious relationship with each of his brothers, and there was never any unpleasant conflict, especially to Crown Prince William, who was very respectful on all occasions. Interestingly, the current Prince Joachim is almost the same person as the teenager Crown Prince William, and people often talk about photos of Crown Prince William when he was thirteen or fourteen years old. It is common sense that siblings are close in appearance, but William II's six sons and one daughter are the only ones who have such a high degree of similarity in appearance, and they seem to have been destined for an extraordinary relationship.

Crown Prince Wilhelm is the eldest son of the Kaiser, and there are four princes between him and Joachim, namely the second prince Aiter, the third prince Adalbert, the fourth prince Augustus, and the fifth prince Oscar. The four princes did not show up at today's banquet, it is not that they are all in seclusion, Ette and Oscar have chosen to develop in the army, and there is not much point in participating in the navy's military port festival. Rather than follow the royal tradition, Augustus received his bachelor's and master's degrees in political science from the University of Bourne and the University of Berlin, and is currently studying for a doctorate in political science at the University of Strasbourg. As for the third prince Adalbert, who chose to develop in the German Navy, he had just boarded a naval training ship on a voyage a few weeks ago, and was probably enjoying the warm sunshine in the Mediterranean Sea by this time.

In front of everyone, Wilhelm II and his wife came to the center of the hall and took the glasses from the waiters. The German Emperor crossed his left hand on his hip and raised the champagne in his right hand, and said in a high-pitched tone: "It is my honor to celebrate the Kiel Military Port Festival with you here, and I propose that we drink this cup for the common prosperity and long-term friendship of Europe!" ”

"For friendship!" The crowd echoed in unison.

"For friendship!" Natsuki raised his glass to Gustav and signaled that with Sweden's strategic environment and traditional national policy, the possibility of becoming an enemy with Germany was very small, and for Germany, there was no harm in wooing this Nordic power rich in iron sand.

Gustav also smiled sincerely: "For friendship! ”

(End of chapter)