"The voyage has just begun, and I am very sorry for your performance. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 Lieutenant Colonel von Kells, with his jaw raised like a noble knight, stood there calmly, completely oblivious to the threat posed by the sailing ship in front of him. A moment later, the sailboat turned its way and passed seven or eight meters from the port side of the Charlotte, and the sailors on board looked at it in wonder.

Having lost the role of the mainsail, the "Charlotte" moved slowly and clumsily forward like a turtle floating on the surface of the sea, and the cadets had ample time to adjust it back to normal, but the lieutenant colonel was in no hurry to give the order. When the sudden sound of the sailboat faded away, he instructed in a steady tone:

"Mons von Klejde, your instructions lack hierarchy, everyone is already nervous, this complex set of instructions will only make the situation worse, and the decision to cut the cable is a fatal mistake. Reddy Walter, you didn't go wrong with your intention to keep everyone calm and act step by step, and you almost got the situation under control, but you treated everyone like puppies who would only obey simple orders, rather than a team that collaborated with each other. Otto Sikenus, you are right in your judgment of the cable, but it is appropriate to express it in an inappropriate way when it is not appropriate, and the soldiers are at a loss because of you at the orders of their commanders. None of you passed this exam just now, I hope you can learn a good lesson, if you still perform like this in the second exam, please automatically give up your probationary officer qualification! ”

The three midshipmen who had achieved excellent results in comprehensive coursework all looked very ugly, and Xia Shu, who had just been on deck as a sailor, felt glad -- it was difficult for him to pass the exam just now, even if he was completely unprepared, and even if the captain took care of his feelings, his failed performance would definitely affect his image as a wise and martial artist in the eyes of his classmates. It seems that not being able to become a second mate or a rotating boatswain is a blessing in disguise.

Despite the unfavorable initial battle, thanks to the dedicated efforts of the officers, cadet officers and cadet sailors, the Charlotte was able to sail smoothly to the depths of the Baltic Sea. In the following time, with the name of alternate, Natsuki did not follow the boatswain's butts all day with his hands behind his back or holding a small notebook, he was willing to clean the deck, operate the rigging, climb the mast every day like an ordinary sailor, and be familiar with every grassroots post on this sailing training ship. With Natsuki's character, this is by no means a pretentious gesture, but a strategy of retreating as advance. He knows that his illustrious background and aura of glory are an invisible barrier that keeps ordinary people who have not had in-depth contact with him, and only down-to-earth, humble and sincere performance can break through this barrier of human nature and make as many people as possible happy and sincere to him. Only in this way can the ambition of the leader be transformed into the charisma of the leader.

On the other hand, Natsuki also hopes to take the opportunity of this training voyage to sharpen his body and mind. In the past ten years, although he has achieved self-improvement with the spirit of diligence and hard work, his noble identity has made him do everything much easier than ordinary people, lacking difficulties and setbacks, and has never been able to break through the bottleneck of personality and thinking.

The hardcore brothers followed the ordinary sailors to work and rest, and Prince Oldenburg, who was appointed as a trainee signal officer, couldn't look past it, and he wanted to resign from his post to advance and retreat with Natsuki, but he reluctantly gave up under Natsuki's persuasion. After that, whenever he took a break from work, he would roll up his sleeves and work with Natsuki, and the students who had a good relationship with them on weekdays also did the same. In the beginning, such a scene was like a leader planting a tree - hugging each other, making the other students watch the jokes, and over time, the unity and cohesion they showed made the people around them both surprised and envious, and this kind of spontaneous work during the break time also indirectly reduced the workload of the other students. Everyone is diligent and dedicated to their duties, and a positive and positive atmosphere has been formed on the training ship.

The first stop of the Charlotte's voyage was the Swedish port of Karlskrona, and at the end of July the weather in Northern Europe was pleasant, and the friendly Swedes sent a warship with the same sail construction to meet them, and fired a 17-gun salute at sea, which was quite a high standard of etiquette. It's just that most of the German naval cadets have no intention of showing courtesy, and they devote all their bodies and minds to the control of this sailing training ship, so as not to make some low-level mistakes in the process of entering the port and disgrace the German Navy in front of their foreign counterparts.

Like his companions, Natsuki didn't have the time to take a good look at the Nordic port until the ship docked. Karlskrona is the main base of the Swedish Navy, built in the late 17th century, when Sweden was the dominant country in the Baltic region. This was due to the military system pioneered by the greatest monarch in their history, Gustav II, and the powerful Swedish army led by him defeated Russia, swept through Poland, and invaded the German hinterland during the "Thirty Years' War", achieving unprecedented honor and prestige for Sweden. Backed by national strength, the Karlskrona military port took the strengths of the naval bases of other countries of the same era, integrating coastal defense fortresses, fleet berths and shipbuilding centers, and this model also became the object of imitation for naval bases in other countries later.

In the 20th century, Karlskrona is a beautiful and tranquil northern port, and the entire city is in a typical Baroque style, unique among Swedish coastal towns. At the annual Karlskrona Sailing Festival, the harbor is filled with ships of all kinds, and such a scene of masts is rarely seen anywhere else.

Natsuki was watching the Nordic port with curiosity when a soft piece of snare drums and orchestral instruments caught his attention, the melody of "The Emperor's Hymn." The naval cadets gathered on the side of the dock, and by the time Natsuki walked over, a group of military musicians in colorful uniforms had already stood on the shore pedal of the "Charlotte", and they were in two rows to greet the distinguished guests. Natsuki quickly recognized the musicians at the head of his old friend, Prince Gustav of Sweden, with a retro-style mid-length navy blue military uniform that complemented his burly frame, and a black boat-shaped hat that reminded him of pirates - although there were no standard accessories for real pirates, the classic on-screen looks still gave people a preconceived impression.

How does this guy know his itinerary? Natsuki was wondering, but saw Gustav draw his sword, the shiny blade of the sword pointed straight at the blue sky, and the dozen or so musketeers who were walking with him immediately fired a salute.

Bang bang bang......

The ancient flintlock pistol was paired with black powder, and the sound was deafening and the smoke was eye-catching. Seeing such a formation, the German naval cadets on the training ship were at a loss, and no one rashly stepped off the pedal. At this point, Natsuki had no choice but to pull up Christian, and the two princes dressed as ordinary sailors walked across the pedals one after the other. Gustav on the other side smiled brightly, he put away his sword as he walked, and gave Natsuki a warm bear hug in full view.

"Ha, Yoheng, I didn't expect to be waiting for you here!"

The Nordic heartiness is undoubtedly shown in Gustav, Natsuki is not very attentive to him, at least he can be honest with him, the best design is always given priority to this gold owner, and getting the soft competition honor also makes Gustav admire him so much. However, no amount of iron friendship was enough for Gustav to hand over his country's confidential information to Natsuki, who actually obtained the technical drawings of the cruiser "Figia" by bribing Gustav's German entourage.

I hadn't seen him for more than half a year, and Natsuki didn't think that Gustav had changed much, but his spirit was a little haggard - maybe the Navy Staff was busy, maybe he just didn't sleep well last night. Natsuki didn't think much about it, but teased as usual: "You sent someone to follow me? ”

"That's rude!" Gustav replied proudly, "You told me last time that you were going on a training voyage at the Naval Academy in the second half of the year, and I happened to be on an errand at the Swedish Navy Command recently, and I heard that the German training ship was going to visit Sweden, so I guess you were on this ship?" ”

Natsuki gave him a thumbs up: "Awesome! ”

After receiving Natsuki's praise, Gustav smiled even brighter: "I have been taken care of by my brother in Germany several times before, and this time I am in Sweden, I must be able to fulfill the friendship of the landlord!" ”

According to the original training plan, the Charlotte will spend two days in Karlskrona for military exchanges with the Swedish Navy - reciprocal visits to antique sailboats that represent the conventional technical standards of the first half of the last century, and German naval cadets will also visit the Royal Swedish Naval Academy. After greeting Gustav, Natsuki and Christian returned to the ship and applied to the captain for free landing, but Lieutenant Commander Kells complied with their request and gave the cadets a half-day off, but asked them to follow the rules after landing and return to the training ship within the specified time.

Towards dusk, Gustav took the two German princes to the best hotels in the area, where they were entertained with a sumptuous dinner, which was certainly not the theme. After dinner, Gustav drove the prize he won in the Nice Water Race, a silver-gray "Lion-Sign" twin-cylinder car, and took Natsuki around Karlskrona. This car adopts a convertible design, with a stylish appearance and luxurious accessories, compared with Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Fiat, Oz, and Ford of the same period, the only fly in the ointment is that its shock-absorbing design is difficult to cope with rough terrain, so after more than ten kilometers, Xia Shu feels that his whole body is about to fall apart.

Back at the port, Gustav parked the car in front of the hotel, turned to Natsuki and Christian and asked, "Who do you think is the most beautiful woman in Europe?" ”

"Do you need to ask?" Christian glanced at Natsuki and replied with great certainty, "Of course our beautiful Princess Victoria-Louise!" ”

Gustav grinned, and he said, "I have prepared two dresses for you, go up and take a shower, change your clothes, and get a handsome hairstyle, and I'll wait for you here." ”

"How?" Natsuki asked, "You want to take us to meet the peerless beauty of Sweden?" ”

"You'll know when you go." Gustav deliberately kept it secretive.

"But we have to get back to the ship by 10 o'clock." Christian reminded, "Otherwise, you'll be locked up." ”

Gustav said disdainfully: "You are the prince of Germany, if you are only an hour or two late, those officers will dare to throw you into confinement?" ”

"It could be." Natsuki shrugged with a smile.

The two German princes entered the hotel, and Gustav got out of the car, and instead of going far, he lit a cigarette by the dock. On a starless night, most of the seafarers who come to the Karlskrona Sailing Festival drink in taverns or in the open air, but the harbour is by no means the only attraction here. After a cigarette, Gustav flicked the butt of his cigarette into the water, turned around, and looked at the palace-like building halfway up the hill with a deep gaze. Even though he was far away, he could hear the joyous songs and the wonderful, flirtatious, prodigal laughter coming from there.

A wry smile appeared on Gustav's lips.

(End of chapter)