"All stand upright! Raise your gun...... Load...... Mingfang! ”

The crisp and pleasant row of guns has a similar effect and effect to the firecrackers in the East. www.biquge.info On the dock where the Russian Navy sail training ship "Sabre" is moored, 40 Russian sailors in white uniforms lined up in a neat line. Listening to the officer's command, they calmly withdrew their shells and reloaded, and raised their rifles diagonally.

A faint smoke of gunfire filled the air.

Dressed in white uniforms and neat appearances, the German naval cadets from afar walked past the Russian sailors with steady and vigorous steps, and boarded the old warship much older than them along the gangway. Contrary to the rumors about the sanitary condition of the Russian ships, the decks here are clean, the ropes and sails are arranged in a staggered manner, and what is even more surprising is that there are breech guns on the ships, and the Russians are also equipped with barrels of gunpowder and solid projectiles - unfortunately the sailors have Mosingana 1891 in their hands, and if you change back to flintlock pistols, this warship can recreate the naval scene of a hundred years ago to the world without dressing up.

As a group of popular guests, the German naval cadets were allowed to visit the sail warship at will, but in fact, apart from some structures and furnishings with Russian characteristics, the "Sabre" and the "Charlotte" were not much different. While the other trainees were looking at the breech gun with interest or fiddling with the Mosin rifle, Natsuki's attention was on the human side. On this Russian training ship, many of the officers and most of the sailors were young, and some of the childish faces looked sixteen or seventeen years old at most. Natsuki asked the Russian officer next to him in a casual tone, and the explanation he received was that the current training on the ship was all new sailors who had joined the army that year. It seems that the Russian Navy may have learned from the painful experience and before the new warships are in place, it will first start with the structure and quality of the troops, eliminate those old oilmen who have been in the navy for many years, inject fresh blood, and conduct strict training. If this is the case, not to mention that the decadent atmosphere of the Russian Navy can be completely eliminated, at least the combat effectiveness can be effectively improved.

In a conversation with the officers of the Russian ships, Natsuki deliberately mentioned two important naval battles in the Russo-Japanese War: the Japanese attack on Lushun and the Battle of Tsushima, which shocked the world. Talking about the past of those fiascos, the Russian officers were not in high spirits, but they did not deliberately shy away from them. Older officers were more willing to put the blame for the defeat on the generals who had already died or been judged, and it was their negligence and misjudgment that had cost the lives of thousands of officers and soldiers, if time could be turned back, if Osipovi had been so capable. General Maklov did not die in a mine, and it is entirely possible that the Russian Navy will come back and win.

In contrast, young Russian officers tend to attribute the defeat to objective factors, that is, the technical and tactical gap between the two navies, and they feel that the Russian navy's ship design concepts and fleet tactical theory are outdated, and the Japanese navy is certainly cunning and hateful, and they are indeed ahead of the Russian navy in many aspects.

It's not terrible to fail, it's terrible not to learn from it. After the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth, Russia vowed from top to bottom to avenge its disgrace by strengthening the country and army. Nearly a year after the armistice, however, the overall plan for the revival of the Russian Navy had been delayed, and the young officers had expressed much dissatisfaction with the fact that the deficit should not be used as a reason to delay the rebuilding of the Navy, and that they were relieved that the bloated and inefficient Admiralty had finally been streamlined and reorganized. The post of admiral, which had previously been held by relatives of the emperor, was abolished, and the new state secretary of the navy, Bizhlev, became the de facto head of this department, and the economic and munitions of the navy were under the responsibility of the director-general. In order to improve the level of naval strategy and operational command, the Russian Navy has also set up a staff department, and most of the young officers selected are well-educated and energetic, and these have brought positive changes to the Russian Navy.

Conversations with Russian officers gave Natsuki a better understanding of this naval force, and throughout history, the Slavic nation rose and fell for 2,000 years, and its peak was actually in the Soviet era after World War II. Until then, neither Rus' nor Russia had been able to become a world-class power. Even under the rule of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, the Russian army still lost more foreign wars than it won. In the Nordic region, they were suppressed by their neighbor Sweden for a long time, and it was not until the 18th century that they were able to turn over; At the Eurasian border, they suffered several crushing defeats to the Ottoman Empire, and it was only in the 19th century that they achieved some commendable victories. However, the country's vast territory, large population, and abundant mineral deposits give the country an innate industrial potential. With the development of industry, these natural advantages gradually emerged. Therefore, when signing the treaty of alliance with France, the Russians had the confidence to describe their country as a "steam steamroller" - millions of strong, tame and obedient farmers who regarded death as if they were using the guns and artillery made by modern industry, such an army was enough to level any line of defense and sweep any country!

In the First World War in history, the Russian army left many people with the impression of corruption, chaos, lack of guns and artillery, low morale, and hundreds of thousands of casualties and prisoners every time they fought with the German army. The Russians, who suffered both a catastrophic defeat in German East Prussia and a brilliant defeat of the Austro-Hungarian army at Galicia and Bukovina, were able to organize one large-scale offensive after another, despite heavy casualties, otherwise the Germans would have been able to concentrate on the Western Front, and the war would probably have ended in defeat for the Allies in 1915.

It is based on the knowledge of these historical facts that Natsuki has never taken this potential opponent who is slow to mobilize but has terrifying power. It is true that the limited strength of the Russian Navy can hardly make the German Navy fall into a two-front combat passivity like the army, but in a full-scale war in the modern model, the land, sea and air battlefields do not exist in isolation, they should complement each other and support each other. Therefore, several important ideas of Natsuki include the offensive operation of the German Navy in the Baltic Sea, and no matter what opportunity it eventually takes to implement it, it is bound to have a face-to-face fight with these Russian soldiers.

Amid the rumble of the old breech guns, the morning visit came to an end. After lunch, the German naval cadets marched to the St. Petersburg Naval Academy. In fact, until the end of the 17th century, Russia was basically a landlocked country, and it was in the hands of the mighty Peter the Great that it gained real access to the sea. The founding of St. Petersburg, the creation of the Russian Navy, and the founding of the Naval Academy were historic events that focused on the first three years of the 18th century. After more than 200 years of wind and rain, St. Petersburg has become the most dazzling pearl in the entire Nordic region, the Russian Navy once ranked among the top three in the world, the St. Petersburg Naval Academy has also accumulated a great reputation, it is currently the best naval academy in the Nordic countries, and many officers and generals in the Russian Navy are from here.

Compared with the magnificent buildings in the city of St. Petersburg, the appearance of this famous Russian naval academy is quite ordinary, it has no imposing exterior walls, a circle of three-story buildings encloses the inner courtyard square, but the interior furnishings of these buildings are quite elegant, the decorations on the walls and sides of the aisles, with various shapes of reliefs and exquisite oil paintings, completely and vividly depict the history of the Russian Baltic Fleet from its establishment to the present more than 200 years - the Battle of Cape Hanko, Victories at the Battle of Ersel and the Battle of Glengarm gave the Russians a firm foothold in the Baltic Sea, and after seven years of war and the Russo-Turkish War, the Russian navy finally defeated its archrival Sweden at the Battle of Vyborg, thus establishing itself as a maritime power.

Throughout the visit, the accompanying Russian officers always maintained a warm attitude and were always patient in answering questions from the German cadets. From Natsuki's insight and experience, it is not difficult to see that the attitude of the Russians is by no means routine politeness, but a friendliness from the heart, which is in sharp contrast to Russia's actual position in the European political landscape, where the two alliance agreements of 1895 and 1904 put Russia on the side of Britain and France against Germany and Austria. Ironically, during the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian fleet's 10,000-mile expedition was thwarted by the British, and the French showed their ugly faces as if they were steering the rudder. During the most difficult voyage of the Russian fleet, only the German colonial officials ignored the pressure of British public opinion and openly supplied the Russian fleet with coal, fresh water, foodstuffs, and other supplies, and also provided them with news of the war situation from the Far East. After the end of the war, the Russian naval officers and sailors who were released and repatriated brought back what they had seen and heard, and the simple feeling of gratitude could not change the country's political position, but it could be remembered by many people for the rest of their lives.

At Natsuki's initiative, the Kiel Naval Academy developed a theme for the 1904 class of sailing training, "Football Friendship". In short, each time they visit a country, they will play a football match with the navy or naval academy team in that country to enhance friendship and bonding. In countries where football is not played at all, German students play an exhibition match. During their visit to Karlskrona, the German cadets played a fantastic match of equal strength against a team of Swedish naval officers and sailors, and the visitors won by a narrow goal, and Natsuki, who was trapped in confinement, was unfortunately absent and could only imagine the scene of the game through the description of his companions.

In the interior of Russia, many people have never heard of football, but in the coastal ports, foreign sailors have long introduced the locals to the charm of this modern sport. After the tour, before dinner, the German Kiel Naval Academy team led by Natsuki and the Russian St. Petersburg Naval Academy team competed on a large lawn nearby. Although the venue was very irregular, the Germans brought jerseys, shorts, socks and shoes from the training ship, while the Russian cadets wore leather shoes, some simply went barefoot, and at first they all wore blue and white striped navy shirts, so the weather was hot, and they became bare-chested one by one after playing for a long time.

With professional equipment, specialized training and rich game experience, the Kiel Naval Academy football team is not only the leader of the naval league, but also a first-class team in Germany. By half-time, they had already taken a 10-3 lead, but they also paid a considerable price for the goals - the "barefoot team" of the St. Petersburg Naval Academy seemed to incorporate a lot of "grabi" elements into their style of football (the grabi is rugby, a sport derived from football, also created by the British, and by the late 19th century it was widespread in many countries), body collisions were ubiquitous, and fouls of all kinds were common. Natsuki was a prince, and the Russian cadets shunned him, but his companions were defeated. At the end of the half, many students had blue and purple legs, feet and backs.

In the spirit of friendly communication, Natsuki did not get angry on the field, but kept reminding the opponent of the football rules that should be followed. After the battle, he asked his companions, who were fluent in Russian, to lodge a formal protest with the other party. In the second half, the Russians gave up their rough manoeuvres and lost control of the game, and the game turned completely into a pass-and-shoot show by the Germans. With twenty minutes left before the end of the game, Natsuki let his companion replace him and sat on the sidelines with nothing to do.

In addition to onlookers, the lawn used for a football match is quite large, and in addition to onlookers, most of the people who are moving around are officers and sailors in military uniforms, and occasionally some women, presumably military family members. Corresponding to the St. Petersburg Naval Academy complex is said to be the seat of the new Russian Naval Staff, where the best young officers of the Russian Navy gather, whose youthful energy and brilliant minds are the hope for the revival of the Navy.

"His Royal Highness Prince Joachim?"

Hearing this somewhat strange tone of German, Natsuki turned his head and greeted him from behind a Russian officer, who was wearing a clean and straight captain's uniform, and his angry appearance unconsciously gave people a sense of fierceness, and the scar on his forehead made this temperament even more serious, and his friendly smile seemed real.

"Andrei Denisov? Hey, it's you! ”

The moment he recognized the other party, Natsuki couldn't help but sigh: the foreshadowing of life is sometimes very deep, and sometimes it is unexpectedly shallow.

After shaking hands vigorously, the young Russian officer, who had studied at the Kiel Naval Academy and left embarrassed by the lack of travel expenses, smiled and said: "You probably think that I have been buried in the far East!" ”

"Hah, I've been so worried! Thankfully, you look pretty good and ready to go back to Kiel to finish your studies? ”

Denisov shrugged, "They summoned me to the newly formed naval staff, where the situation was much better than I thought, and I couldn't afford to miss this opportunity." ”

It seems that this friendly investment has hit a potential stock, Xia Shu thought to himself. Although you can't be sure that the other party will be able to use it for yourself, this is still a very valuable clue.

"You've learned the essence of us, and the rest of the lessons are fully understood in practice. Anyway, congratulations! ”

"Thank you!" Denisov looked at the rushing figures on the grass, "Your skills are wonderful, but unfortunately our boys are not good at it. ”

Seeing his old acquaintance, Natsuki's depression just now had been swept away, and he proposed, "Maybe we can find a place to have a drink and have a good chat." ”

Denisov thought for a moment: "There will be official business to do later." I know where your warship is parked, I'm going to look for you at 8 o'clock or 8:30 tonight, can I? ”

"Of course." Natsuki replied.

"Alright, we'll see you in the evening." Denisov sent a polite smile, "It's an honor to see you again!" ”

Natsuki smiled and shook his hand for the second time: "I feel the same way!" ”

(End of chapter)