Walking in the marble cloister in the style of the Baroque court, Natsuki was still pondering the conversation he had just experienced in the emperor's study, especially the mental activity of the admiral's eyes and expressions, and Christian's heart had already flown to the beautiful Louise, eager to run all the way. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Most of Berlin's royal palaces were built in the Prussian period, mainly in the Gothic and Baroque buildings, their lines are rough, the shapes are unrestrained, and every detail has been carefully carved and cleverly embellished, this style is like the brave, hard-working, rigorous and meticulous national character of the Germanic people. Walking through the familiar porches and stairs, Natsuki can pick up happy memories everywhere, not because of how beautiful the murals are, how exquisite the sculptures, how expensive the treasures are, all of which are not as good as a smile, a teardrop, or a strand of hair of little Louise. It's hard to imagine how boring Natsuki's second childhood would have been without this innocent and cute "little tail" that is suitable for quiet and moving.

Hearing the soft and elegant piano melody floating from the front of the corridor, Natsuki suddenly let go of his thoughts, and he turned to Christian and grinned: "It's Schumann's "Walnut Tree". ”

Prince Oldenburg suddenly looked pitiful, who told him to be unable to sit still in front of the piano for an hour from an early age with the rhythm of music as noise?

The two of them walked briskly to the small hall with a blue velvet carpet. In front of the gorgeous floor-to-ceiling windows, a blonde-haired girl in a white dress plays the piano intently, her delicate face more charming than any flower in the royal garden.

The brother-sister relationship is beyond reproach, and it is not surprising that admirers are deeply obsessed. The two young men stood motionless until Louise realized their presence, and the two exchanged genuine smiles and applause.

Kiyomi's face flushed crimson, and she got up and said, "Are things going well?" ”

"Well, it's basically settled, and the details will come slowly." Natsuki pretended to be relaxed and said, "After going to the Naval Academy, the most regrettable thing is that I can't hear such beautiful piano music. ”

Christian couldn't wait to praise: "It's so good, it's like music from Wonderland." ”

Louise smiled mischievously at Prince Oldenburg's exaggerated description, and when she turned her gaze to her brother, there was tenderness in her eyes. She took a step towards the piano and gave up her position to her brother, "I want to hear your "Hey, Girl." ”

Natsuki sat down with a smile, and his skillful melody began to flow through his fingertips, singing with deep warmth.

"Hey, girl, don't be depressed, find a sad song to sing it more joyfully......"

This song is none other than Paul, a member of the Beatles. McCartney's "heyJudy", except for replacing Judy with girl, the tune and even the original English words have not changed, and the famous song more than 60 years later also has a strong appeal in this era, Natsuki still remembers the first time she sang while playing, 3-year-old Louise was engrossed in listening to the beginning and the end, since then, whether she is sick, injured or depressed, as long as she listens to Natsuki play and sing this song, her mood will change significantly.

Singing and singing, Natsuki closed his eyes lightly, completely intoxicated by the atmosphere he had created. When the last note fell, he opened his eyes and saw a teardrop of crystal beads across Louise's beautiful face.

"That's a good sound! Why not make it into a record? Christian suggested somewhat untimely.

Edison invented the gramophone in 1877, and by the end of the 19th century, round records began to become popular, and people could hear famous songs without entering the concert hall, but Natsuki had no intention of plagiarizing the intellectual wealth of his "predecessors", nor did he intend to leave his own footprints in the music industry, so he never played these songs that belonged to the future in front of outsiders, let alone made them into records.

"It's a song that belongs to us, and they're engraved here, and we'll never forget it." Natsuki puts his right hand to his heart, knowing that Louise will always keep her promises with him, and Christian's musical cells make him a reassuring observer.

Time flies, especially in a relaxed musical environment. It wasn't until the royal chamberlain came to inform them of the meal that the three realized that they had spent more than two hours around a piano.

Dinners for the royal family are not always as grand and crowded as one might see in paintings, and in the absence of ceremonies and ceremonies, there are usually only direct members of the royal family and a few invitees at the table. Today's dinner was a small gathering within the family, and the Kaiser and his wife, Crown Prince Wilhelm, the second prince Friedrich, the fifth prince Oscar, the seventh princess Louise, and the sixth prince Joachim and Prince Christian of Oldenburg, who had arrived from Kiel that day, sat together in a lukewarm atmosphere, just as the room temperature was just right.

As usual, the Kaiser showed her heroic and uninhibited spirit in a lavish manner, and the queen's words and deeds were generous and decent, showing elegance everywhere, and her appetite was no different from that of ordinary people, which was much more comfortable than those English or French aristocratic ladies who "ate bird food". Crown Prince Wilhelm basically inherited his father's style - or rather deliberately imitated, dismissive of the gentlemen's manners of chewing slowly and following the rules, and was keen on every topic at the table, whether it was astronomy, geography or exotic anecdotes.

The second prince, Etter, had served in the royal army and was stationed in Berlin, he was a typical man with a wide heart, a fat body, a good appetite, a bold personality, but his mind did not seem to be very smart, and he often became the target of the eldest brother's sneering and meanness. The fifth prince, Oscar, is just the opposite of Aiter, he is thin, thin-faced, melancholy and sensitive, and the sharpness of the anti-lip ridicule makes Prince William a little jealous, he has a surprising memory, and the subject he is interested in must be excellent grades, and this overly personal characteristic is not a headache for the military academy.

"I heard that our little prince is going to change careers to build big ships?" The smile on the crown prince's face looked bright.

Natsuki explained unhurriedly: "I think it's because of genetics, I've been interested in all kinds of ships since I was a child, but really participating in the design and construction of ships, I think it should be from small to large, from simple to complex, if it weren't for the embarrassment of the Russian expeditionary fleet, and I have unprecedented insights and inspiration in the construction of ships, I wouldn't have entered the new cruiser project in such a hurry, and it would more or less make the Minister of the Navy and the shipbuilding committee feel reckless!" ”

"I don't think it's a sign of recklessness, Jochen's design is very original, and it teaches the old-fashioned ship-building commissioners a good lesson, and their heads should have been washed a long time ago." The Kaiser was obviously not particularly satisfied with the shipbuilding committee, of course, his cruiser design was "killed" by the chief designer of this committee ten years ago, although Wilhelm II has always been tolerant of such confrontations that have no direct interest, and it is inevitable that he will be a little resentful in his heart, and Natsuki can be regarded as a big fight for him this time.

The Kaiser's attitude was clear, and Crown Prince Wilhelm praised it in enthusiastic words: "I have long said that Jochen is a genius of the navy, who can make our sailors control the best ships in the world, and make our fleet as invincible as the army." ”

Before Natsuki had time to be modest, the crown prince immediately said: "This year's Kiel Military Port Festival, Jochen's torpedo boat fleet can give the German Navy a hard breath, I heard that the Duke of Hill complained to the officials of the Admiralty after returning to England, because the torpedo boats in the British Navy are big and stupid, and none of them can be as dexterous and sharp as our thunderbolts, how can the British Royal Navy lag behind the Germans who have always understood the sea in such an important technical field?" ”

"Speaking of Thunderbolt boats, should we urge the Naval Planning Committee to place additional orders?" The Kaiser proposed, "The cost of a medium-sized cruiser can be exchanged for fifty Thunderbolts, and fifty high-speed speedboats should have an attack power of no less than a detachment of offshore cruisers." ”

With the technical conditions of 1904, he was able to build a high-speed torpedo boat like the Thunderbolt, and Natsuki himself felt a little proud, but he also knew very well in his heart that this kind of flat-bottomed speedboat could be majestic when the wind and waves were calm, and when encountering bad sea conditions, the sailing speed and attack efficiency would be greatly reduced, so it could only be an auxiliary force for nearshore defense and should not be the protagonist, and the flamboyant performance at the Kiel Military Port Festival was also to distract the competitors' energy and investment in the capital ship from the side. Reducing the operational pressure in the event of a future war will increase the confidence and support of the outside world for the German Navy and improve the morale of the officers and men of the Navy. In order not to refute the emperor's kindness, Xia Shu said euphemistically: "The current order will not be completed until 4 years later, and there will definitely be a design with better performance at that time." ”

"Yes, with our talented designers, in 4 years there will definitely be more invincible torpedo boats for the Navy, and when these speedboats have formed combat effectiveness, no one will dare to peek into the German coastline again." Crown Prince William was enthusiastic about it.

"Makes sense." The Kaiser nodded, and he thought about it: "180 ships will be built in four years, 45 ships per year, and the average will be less than four ships per month, which is as slow as building a large torpedo boat of several hundred tons...... It seems that our Friedrich shipyard has not expanded in almost twenty years! ”

The Friedrich Shipyard, also known as the Royal Shipyard run by Natsuki, is a century-old shipyard located on the shores of Danzig Bay. Three years ago, when Natsuki succeeded the old Yudit as the actual operator of the shipyard, its main business was to build and repair sailboats and iron-hulled sailboats, which had long been eliminated by the German naval combat units, and the yachts of the royal family and nobles had also been upgraded one after another.

******

Important correction: Previously, due to translation problems, Prince Joachim was translated as Prince Prinz-Joachim, and the correct translation should be Prince Joachim, but now all the previous chapters have been modified, and the full German name of the protagonist should be "Prince Joachim Franz-Hubert of Prussia", and the nickname is "Joachim".

Here, I would like to thank the book friend for the reminder and correction of "what is the nickname".

(End of chapter)