At 8 p.m., the train from Bremen to Baden-Baden departs on time. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info for John. Holland, an unmissable engineer and inventor, took great pains to ask for three days off from the academy, and rested for half a day in the VIP room at the train station, and Mr. Holland, who was over the age of six, was no longer as tired as when he first got off the ship. On the train, he chatted with Natsuki for a long time, and felt more and more that the Prussian prince in front of him was "invincible" - he did not know every technical detail of the submarine, but he dared to make a bold prediction about the development of submarine technology: the development of hull materials and welding technology will allow the submarine to dive to a depth close to or even more than 100 meters within ten years; Improvements in battery and motor technology can multiply their underwater range; In addition to firing torpedoes in the water, submarines can be used to carry out covert transoceanic transport and mine-laying missions, and even to break into enemy ports like a wolf in a sheepfold......

Talking about the rise, and being stimulated by the low alcohol, Holland began to speak freely, he said: "I remember that in the morning, His Highness mentioned the significance of using submarines for ocean survey and development, and if this goal can be achieved, it will be no less significant than the first time that mankind used oil as machine fuel, and the economic and industrial pattern of the world will also be greatly changed. If you can unearth a huge oil field worthy of Baku and Pennsylvania under the high seas, Your Highness will surely become the richest man in the world! ”

These words came out of the mouth of an engineer who specializes in submarine technology, and even Natsuki admired his ability to understand. In the eyes of a hundred years later, the earth at the beginning of the 20th century was full of undiscovered and untapped "gold mines", the inner lakes of Europeans - the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, contain rich oil and gas resources, but these submarine oil fields have much higher requirements for exploitation technology and cost than onshore oil fields, and Natsuki's current strength is far from enough to carry out such large-scale investment and development, and his short-term goals are those mineral resources that have not been paid attention to and are not so difficult to exploit, such as the Venezuelan oil fields of great strategic value, Texas oil fields in the United States, and oil fields in remote areas of Canada.

In this era of capital supremacy, the discovery of oil fields does not mean that the gold pocket is in hand, and the fierce competition for exploitation rights is sometimes not inferior to a war, and in terms of refining and processing and market management, the Rockefeller of the United States controls the refined oil market in Zhouzhou, Africa, Australia and the Asia-Pacific region with its strong strength, the Swedish Nobel brothers dominate most of the oil extracted from the Baku region of Russia, and their kerosene "lights up half of Europe", and the Dutch Shell oil is also a newly rising powerhouse. It is precisely because of this kind of commercial competition, which combines national politics and monopoly interests, that Natsuki did not carry a shovel to dig for treasure, he could only continue to accumulate strength and wait for the opportunity, otherwise even a European power like Germany would have failed in its attempt to monopolize Venezuela's resources due to the joint intervention of the great powers.

Natsuki thought for a moment and replied very cleverly: "Based on the principle of the formation of oil resources, the waters around Europe contain amazing reserves, and maybe there is oil comparable to the entire Baku region under the surface of the fishing sea in the Irish era!" ”

Horan's eyes widened when he heard this.

Seeing the other party's expression, Xia Shu knew that he still cared about the motherland, so he deliberately tempted: "Even if there is no oil, there may be gold mines and diamond mines hidden under the sea water hundreds of meters deep, and then the local people will not have to brave the bad weather to go out to sea to fish, and they can live a good life with these resources." ”

Holland muttered, "I hope so, I hope so." ”

If he took this opportunity to propose cooperation intentions to the other party, Natsuki felt that the possibility of Huo Lan's nodding was very high, but this was not conducive to his absolute dominance in the cooperation, so he just looked at Huo Lan with a smile. The two chatted for a while, and seeing that it was getting late, Holland took his leave and returned to his cabin. Natsuki put down his wine glass, let the waiter serve a pot of coffee, and took out a thick textbook of "Ballistics" from his luggage, preparing for the upcoming final exam.

For a student who is both enviable and jealous, night battles seem to be commonplace. After midnight, Uncle Wiesel, who had been accompanying him in the carriage, couldn't bear to persuade: "Staying up late is not good for your health, Your Highness, you better rest early!" ”

Xia Shu raised his head and moved his neck and shoulders, turned his head and gave his uncle a smile: "It's okay." ”

The uncle blamed himself: "Your Highness works hard every day to maintain your academic performance, and at the same time has to be distracted from the affairs of the shipyard, which is really a dereliction of duty. If we can do our best to carry the burden of the shipyard, Your Highness can also be more relaxed......"

While arranging the theoretical formula on paper, Natsuki said with relief: "His Majesty the Emperor entrusted me with the management of the shipyard, which is a responsibility given to me and a training for me. Nicholas, you have done me a great favor, and I would not have been able to rest assured that I should have left these matters to someone else. Don't look at me all day long, if I'm really tired, I'll pay attention to my rest. ”

The uncle still said uneasily: "However, Your Highness, you don't sleep as long as an old man like me every day. ”

"How old are you?"

Natsuki joked that after he had memorized the formula through calculus, he put down his pen and stretched, got up and said to his uncle:

"Everyone may have more than one chance at life, but not every time it will be wonderful. I cherish my life and every second I spend here, and I hope that I can do everything well, from learning piano and horsemanship to running a shipyard and taking naval lessons, and one day, these efforts will become the cornerstone of my success. ”

Uncle Wiesel looked at Natsuki in amazement, for many years, he sometimes felt that he knew the royal boy well, and sometimes he couldn't guess what was really going on in his head.

"We're going to set off for a long voyage in a little more than a month, and by that time, all the affairs of the shipyard will really be on your shoulders." Natsuki said.

Wizel replied earnestly: "Don't worry, although I am limited, at least I can ensure that it will work as you envisioned." ”

Natsuki simply cleaned up the table: "Okay, Nicholas, I'll go and rest." Although time is not much, but it is not yet to the point where it is urgent, let's take it step by step, step by step. ”

Wiesel nodded yes, and watched Natsuki walk towards the cabin with a kind and respectful gaze, only to sigh lightly until he closed the cabin door.

Early the next morning, when Uncle Wiesel came to the office reception area of the carriage, Natsuki was already immersed in his books in the company of a pot of milk tea. The train travels along the banks of the Rhine, with the beautiful Rhine on one side and the lush Black Forest on the other, surrounded by hills and woods, each with its own story and a story to tell, with flags dancing in the wind on the spires to show that they are still alive and well.

There is more than one city in Europe called "Baden", and there are also hot springs and sanatoriums in Austria and Baden, Switzerland, but none can compare to Baden in the German Grand Duchy of Baden. Baden was a well-known health resort more than 2,000 years ago during the Roman Empire, where Roman emperors bathed, and by the 19th century, almost all the world's biggest names stayed in Baden-Baden, a city beloved by Napoleon III and hosted Queen Victoria of England, Tsar Alexander of Russia and King William of Prussia. Frederick III. Favored by monarchs and aristocrats, Baden's architecture is like an exhibition of nations, many of which were designed by famous architects, and thanks to the efforts of Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, etc., the city became the center of so-called salon music in Europe hundreds of years ago......

May isn't the best time to visit Baden-Baden, but this small German city doesn't seem to lack its popularity. The German royal family had a residence here that was not a palace, a Prussian-era villa where you could enjoy a hot spring without having to leave the house. Here I met my sister and her family, John, who still lives in Ireland. Horan was amazed, and although they still kept in correspondence, they hadn't seen each other for years. Under Natsuki's intention, the family who have been reunited for a long time can even live here until winter, although they have no such plans.

During his two days in Baden-Baden, Natsuki did not extend an invitation to Holland or talk to him about technical issues, but instead sought a moment of relaxation in the thermal pools and tranquil scenery. On the last night, when he informed Holland that he was returning to the Naval Academy, the submarine master offered to work for Natsuki's submarine program, provided that the submarine factory was opened in his birthplace, County Clare, Ireland, and promised to hire local Irishmen and pay them for their labor.

Since the Friedrich shipyard had already been fully funded for the expansion and upgrade, and the submarine dock and equipment were ready, it was not practical to relocate the submarine facilities to Ireland or open a new submarine factory, and Natsuki explained his difficulties to Horan. For John. With the addition of Holland, he promised to invest in the opening of a shipyard in Ireland with no less than 500 employees within three years, pay the local people the same treatment as German workers, and give Holland a certain share in the shipyard. During these three years, Holland could go to Ireland to visit his family at any time if he wished, or his family could be arranged by the Friedrich shipyard to live in Germany temporarily.

After careful consideration, Holland replied in the affirmative before Natsuki left, and the handshake between the two men in Baden-Baden had doomed a new turn for the better in Germany's submarine development, and the day was May 12, 1905. If history had not changed, a full decade later, the British passenger liner Lusitania full of passengers would have been sunk by a U-20 submarine from the German Navy, killing more than 1,100 passengers, including a large number of American citizens and Irishmen, and putting Germany in its worst passive situation since the start of the war.

Natsuki's butterfly wings are quietly changing the trajectory of history.

(End of chapter)