On the day that the battleship "Alsace" arrived in Portsmouth, Prince Heinrich, who had arrived in Britain in advance to coordinate the exchange of gunnery, also came to Portsmouth, and he boarded the battleship and brought a heavy news to his naval colleagues: the next morning, the British Navy would send the battleship "Dreadnought" to conduct a naval artillery drill with the "Alsace". Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

From his reluctance to admit German warships into Portsmouth to the use of the latest warships to exchange gunnery, Prince Heinrich's ability to communicate in the field of military diplomacy seems to have reached a high level. In contrast, both Prime Minister Bernhardt, who was born into a family of diplomats. Feng. Bilo, or Friedrich, who regarded himself as a protégé of Bismarck. Feng. Holstein should be ashamed of his inaction.

As the younger brother of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Prince Heinrich showed others a very different kind of tolerance and easy-goingness. He is always smiling, very funny, and willing to listen to what others have to say. Having served in the German Navy for 27 years, he was well versed in life at sea and was well versed in the technical and tactical use of modern naval warfare, and was considered a qualified fleet commander. It is worth mentioning that he was neither as aggressive as his brother nor supportive of the excessive expansion of German naval power, and he felt that Britain and Germany should maintain a friendly and cooperative relationship rather than a fierce arms race. This character and outlook made Prince Heinrich a popular and respected figure on most occasions, and even in front of the growing German aversion to the British public. At a time when Germany's relations with its neighbors were becoming more and more confrontational, there must have been people who wondered why he was not the one who ascended the German throne.

Regardless of which of the Hohenzollern siblings was more suited to be the rulers of the Empire, the vast majority of them were loyal only to established facts, especially those soldiers who had sworn an oath before God.

Walking from the closed command room to the open bridge, Prince Heinrich looked at the British Dreadnought and said to his colleagues: "It is beautiful, it is magnificent, and more importantly, we have long known it through the model of Prince Joachim's battleship, and we have designed our all-heavy gun warship in a targeted manner, which will announce to the world that the German Navy is as good a maritime force as the British Navy, and that it is capable of protecting the interests of the country and its people from being violated." ”

Prince Heinrich's tendencies played a crucial role in the finalization of the German dreadnought's design, and now he brought it up again, once again having a decisive effect - the paranoid technical debate among naval engineers came to an abrupt end. It was clear that with the support of the Kaiser, the head of the navy and Prince Heinrich at the same time, Prince Joachim's authority in the field of naval design would be unshakable, even if he was only a young man under the age of 18.

The prince then turned around and motioned for Natsuki, who was wearing a lieutenant's uniform, to come to him: "Jochen, take a shower later, change into royal dresses, the king of England invites us to Windsor Castle for a banquet tonight, this will be an international family gathering." ”

Natsuki replied, "Okay, I see. ”

The two sentences of dialogue that are understated are enough to make others envious to the bones.

Of course, outsiders often only see the glamorous side of the royal family. In order to attend the royal dinner, Natsuki followed Prince Heinrich on a four-and-a-half-hour carriage ride, bumpy and tiring, and arrived at the town of Windsor, more than 50 miles from Portsmouth, when it was getting dark.

Windsor Castle is one of the oldest and most important residences of the British royal family, but the British royal family at this time was not surnamed "Windsor", it belonged to the "Saxe-Coburg-Gotha dynasty". As the name suggests, the British dynasty had a close blood relationship with the German royal family, and by the end of World War I, the British people's hatred of Germany was unprecedentedly strong due to the large number of British soldiers killed in battles with the German army. In order to take a stand, the British royal family issued an edict in 1917 to change the name of the British royal family and the private surnames of the descendants of the royal family to Windsor, and since then it has entered the later known "Windsor Dynasty".

At the high-level banquet attended by the main members of the British royal family, prominent nobles and many European royal families, the German Prince Heinrich and Prince Joachim were not too special guests, and no matter how fierce and bad the Anglo-German conflict seemed, as long as the war did not break out for a day, these princes and nobles belonged to the European royal family after all, and they were at best arrogant and despised for their German relatives and friends, and they would never be guilty of coldly staring at each other or looking at each other angrily on high-end occasions.

Coming forward to greet the German prince and prince was Louis, a high-ranking officer of the British Admiralty. Alexander. Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven. What is very special is that this man was born into the German royal family, to be exact, a small German state: Battenberg. However, when Mountbatten joined the Royal Navy, the Second German Reich had not yet been proclaimed, so there was no contradiction in the skew of allegiance to the German Emperor. If the trajectory of history remains the same, Alexander. A few years later, Mountbatten would become First Sea Secretary and Chief of Naval Staff, the highest position held by a professional soldier in the Royal Navy and Navy Headquarters - second only to the Lord of the Navy. In the same way, if the development of history follows the original line, his son Louis. Mountbatten will become a remarkable military and political figure in British history.

Outwardly, Alexander. Louis had the burly figure common to most German royal families, with a beard similar to that of Wilhelm II on his upper lip and a thick beard on his chin. At first, he spoke a word of German to Heinrich and Natsuki, but every word he used in the rest of the conversation was in English. The core of what they talked about was nothing more than the importance of easing the Anglo-German confrontation and the feasibility of reaching an agreement to slow down the pace of ship building, which reminded Natsuki of the historical Anglo-German naval agreement, a cover used by the Führer of the Third Reich to stabilize the British. Tirpitz wanted the British and German navies to maintain a 3:2 ratio of capital ships, while the British could only accept a ratio of less than 5:3 and demanded mutual supervision of naval construction.

As the curtain of the dreadnought era slowly opened, this competition related to national status and even the international pattern has been put out of the way by the great powers, and the high cost of dreadnoughts means a terrible money-burning race. In the coming decades, the navies of all countries will spare no effort to build stronger, faster, and more deterrent warships, and military spending will double, and the country and its people will be burdened with a heavy economic burden. In the long run, only Britain and Germany are the only European countries that can afford to sustain such a race, while on the other side of the ocean, the United States, despite its competitive industrial and economic strength, has greatly constrained its armament development due to its policy of isolation, and it is more willing to sit back and watch the tiger fight before it is threatened by war, rather than being directly involved in this dangerous race.

It seemed that it would be difficult to ease the conflict of the arms race with the British by agreement, and Natsuki glanced at the center of the banquet hall, where the confident and calm Crown Prince George and his graceful and luxurious crown princess were undoubtedly the center of attention. Before becoming the heir to the British throne, George served in the Royal Navy for many years, and his words, deeds, personality and temperament were in line with the role of a veteran naval officer.

As his knowledge and experience grew, so did the number of faces that Natsuki could recognize on such occasions. Some of these royal nobles held important positions in the military and political circles, some lived in seclusion in the countryside, and the Duke of Hill, who served in the British home fleet, also appeared in sight unsurprisingly. Then, an extremely familiar and friendly figure also came into view, and the joy from the heart made Natsuki smile involuntarily - a surprise jump on the south lawn of Elizabeth Girls' College, he and Charlotte confessed their affection for each other, and thus entered the subtle emotional world from youth and ignorance. Although the relationship between the two has not yet been officially established, and the impact of the "Countess Incident" has not been completely eliminated, after piercing the layer of window paper, the two are full of happiness and sweetness in their relationship and relationship.

This time in the United Kingdom, Natsuki shouldered a confidential military mission, so it was inconvenient to reveal in the letter to Charlotte, not to mention that Portsmouth is a few hours drive from London, and it is almost impossible to take the time to go to pick up girls, and after learning that she had the opportunity to attend the royal banquet at Windsor Castle, Natsuki felt that she might meet Charlotte here, and now her premonition came true, not far away, she was talking with a young and handsome British Royal Navy captain with a shy smile.

Anyone with a big heart would not be annoyed by jealousy, Natsuki took a light breath and walked over with a polite gesture.

The moment she saw Natsuki, Charlotte was very surprised, but when she saw that the smile on her boyfriend's face was still as warm as the spring sun, she immediately let go of her mind and changed from a shy smile with a budding desire to a sincere smile.

"Hey, charming English lady, did this bright moonlight send you to me?" Natsuki said with a smile.

The young captain standing in front of Charlotte probably felt that such a greeting was frivolous, and was about to refute it, but Charlotte replied without hesitation: "So handsome German gentleman, it is the refreshing autumn breeze that blows you here!" ”

One question and one answer shows tacit understanding.

"This is a temporary military visit, maybe only for two days in the UK." Natsuki took the initiative to explain.

Charlotte winked playfully: "I didn't know there was such a banquet until I got in my father's carriage. ”

The two of them completely regarded the benevolent brother next to them as air, but the arrogant fellow was not interested, he turned to Natsuki with his chin held high and his chest puffed out, and said in an arrogant tone: "Oh, I didn't expect Miss Hill to know a German, and she is a brave and aggressive German naval officer. ”

It seems that this guy didn't recognize himself, Natsuki thought to himself, but in the upper circles of Europe, Joachim's name should be known to everyone. However, to be able to be invited to the British royal banquet, the other party is obviously a person of status, in order to avoid Charlotte's embarrassment, Natsuki generously reported to his family: "German Navy Lieutenant Joachim." Feng. Prussia. ”

Hearing the name of Joachim, the arrogance of the British naval captain really waned, and he looked at Natsuki with wide eyes: "It turns out that you are the ship design genius of the German Navy, His Royal Highness Prince Joachim of Prussia. ”

"Exactly down there." Natsuki stretched out his right hand unhurriedly, and the other party did not dare to refuse. After shaking hands, he finally walked away with a playful excuse.

The young couple who fell in love looked at each other and smiled, their eyes full of love.

"It seems that your father would very much like you to find a British Royal Navy officer as a companion, and promising young officers abound at such a banquet." Natsuki's tone was not a little annoyed, but a little ridiculous.

Charlotte sighed lightly, which showed that she was indeed under pressure from her parents, but then her words proved that she was still the quick-witted and lively girl: "Well, do you feel a lot of pressure in the face of competitors who are not bad in all aspects?" ”

"I'm unique." Natsuki replied, "I love you one and only." ”

Charlotte curled the corners of her mouth slightly and winked playfully: "The word love is very simple to say, but how can you prove it?" ”

Many girls in love are keen to give boys problems, and Natsuki has been tested in a similar way on a previous solo date. At this time, looking around, he quickly chose the way to answer, and said, "Let's see me prove it like this." ”

With that, he strode towards the piano with a champagne glass, and the pianist in a white gown was playing Chopin's waltz in C sharp minor on a white lacquered piano.

Natsuki put the glass on the piano and smiled and said to the pianist, "I'm sorry, can I borrow a piano?" ”

The virtuoso pianist was surprised, but since it was a request from a guest, he stopped playing and stood aside.

Natsuki moved his fingers on his own, while calmly and elegantly sat down on the piano bench, and quickly went through the corresponding score and lyrics in his mind, his slender fingertips began to "dance" on the keys, and his full voice also sang along with the beautiful music:

Oh......

In this tranquil moonlight

I'll paint a picture for you with songs

It is a paradise on earth

It is a wonderland of dreams

Over here

The breeze blows the bright clouds

The waves crash against the winding shore

Emerald green hills

There is a bonfire

There are joyous songs

There is a dance

There is a smile

Incomparably wonderful

But all of this is a foil

You're the only protagonist

……

The composition of this song comes from "Writing a Poem for You", a simple but beautiful modern love song, the melody is very different from the mainstream songs of this era, but the commonality of music is obviously not restricted by time and country. The guests of honor at the scene were quickly attracted by Xia Shu's singing, and gradually, the huge banquet hall was silent, and the light and tactful tune flowed through people's hearts like flowing water, bringing an unprecedented fresh feeling. As the sound fell, people remained immersed in the magical musical journey, until a gloved applause broke the silence. When people realized that the applause came from King Edward VII (reigned 1901-1910), whom they admired, the hall erupted in thunderous applause for a long time.

In fact, Natsuki only cares about the happy smile on that innocent and delicate face, which makes him fascinated.

(End of chapter)